


What's in a kiss?

by orangecreamsicle



Series: Dorks in Love [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Accidental Drug Use, Adultery, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Angst and Humor, Demon Deals, Fluff, Heavy Drinking, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Shameless Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 01:33:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 115,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1491862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangecreamsicle/pseuds/orangecreamsicle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Re-writing summary because apparently I suck at summaries.  I am a horrible person.  Heh...)<br/>Levi's relationship with Erwin abruptly ends leaving him single for the first time in...ever.  He's never been alone, but it's ok, he's got this.  At least until he accidentally summons a demon who makes friends with his college student neighbors and takes over his life.</p><p>Edit: Explicit for Ch. 13, and now Ch. 17.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everything goes to shit

**Author's Note:**

> So....this is my first fic anywhere. I like keeping things a surprise, so I hope it's ok that descriptions, tags, etc are sparse. Yeah, this story is pretty much my obsessive daydreaming about the characters. Ha ha! Hope you enjoy.

Erwin was barely able to dodge out of the way before the hurling disc whizzed by his ear and shattered against the wall just behind him, shards flying out in all directions.

“Levi!” Erwin protested, arms raised in an effort to block the onslaught of dinnerware.  “That‘s the _good_ china!”

“I don’t care if it’s a fucking family heirloom, you bastard piece of shit!”  Levi snarled as he got ready to send the matching tea cups next.  “This is unforgivable Erwin!  What were you thinking?!”

“If you can calm down, we can talk about it!  We _need_ to talk about it!”

Erwin jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding said teacups. 

“Dammit, Levi!”  Erwin scowled as he heard his salad bowl smash into a thousand pieces behind him.   He’d had to go to four different stores to complete that set!  The thought of all his wasted effort was really trying his patience.  “Stop this!  This is childish!”

“No, eyebrows!”  Levi spat out.  “I’m going keep throwing these _fucking_ pretentious slabs of _fucking_ clay at you until I’m satisfied!  And then you will need to find a _really_ good way of making this bullshit up to me!” 

Levi hurled a water goblet (still full) and grabbed the silverware to immediately follow.   Somehow, Erwin still managed to dodge everything, making the shorter man’s blood boil even more.  Damn, his aim sucked when he was pissed!  Erwin maneuvered himself through the onslaught and finally caught Levi in a bear hug to stop his actions.  It was by no means a tender hug at all, especially with Levi struggling to get out of the behemoth’s grip.

“Levi, listen-“

“No, _you_ listen!  You’ve been _really_ shitty lately.  More than usual actually, and I’m tired of putting up with it!  I swear it’s like you don’t even fucking care anymore!”

Erwin scoffed.

“You’re right, I don’t!” he yelled with exasperation. 

Levi immediately stopped struggling.  He felt his heart go still. 

“What?” he choked out quietly, his eyes narrowing.

Erwin let Levi ease out of his hold, but he still gripped his shoulders.

“Levi,” Erwin exhaled loudly, trying to find the right words.  “Mike and I aren’t a ‘thing’ that’s going to go away.  We’re in love.  And we’re going to be together.  I’m sorry.”

Levi couldn’t believe his ears.  Erwin sounded like a fucking clueless teenage girl defending her love for some street punk.  Was he supposed to play the father part and try to forbid it?  This was ridiculous!

He vaguely heard Erwin go on to list complaints about how he wasn’t happy, how Mike understood him,  how much they had in common, how they hadn’t meant for it to happen.  Blah, blah, blah.  He honestly didn’t care.  All he heard from Erwin was me, me, me.  Where was the compromise?   Where was the communication between them that they should have as a couple?  Levi hadn’t even been aware that there _were_ issues between them.  He didn’t even know that he was making mistakes or not living up to par, whatever the case may be!  As far as he was concerned, he was the one always having to overlook Erwin’s shortcomings and shitty behavior because he wanted things to work out for them.  It wasn’t fair that Erwin just decided that he wasn’t happy and therefore flung himself straight away into foreign arms. 

Asshole!

Levi eased himself down onto one of the dining chairs, lost as to what was happening and not sure what to do anymore.  There were too many things going on in his head and he couldn’t focus on any one thing.  He knew when he’d found the pictures and texts on Erwin’s phone that something like this could happen, but he never really thought it would.  He’d been devastated, yes.  He’d felt betrayed, absolutely.  He’d cried over it, embarrassingly so.  The one thing that he hadn’t thought about was them breaking up.  That had never crossed his mind.  He figured they’d been together for so long that one of them was bound to get curious or bored and stray.  He assumed it would just be a passing thing though.  They would work it out.  They had a life together, and he was just going to throw it away?  For a fling, really?! 

He thought about all the time they had been together.  They’d been best friends throughout high school.  It wasn’t until after college that they started dating and quickly moved in together.  He hadn’t felt like they were rushing things back then because they’d been together so long it just seemed like the natural progression of their relationship.  It had also taken them years to establish their home just the way they wanted. 

Ok, that was a lie. 

It was just the way Erwin wanted, Levi had let him have his way on everything.  Levi wanted to believe that he let Erwin do as he pleased because he wanted him to be happy.  Thinking back on it now, it was possible that maybe he just hadn’t given a rat’s ass about such trivial matters.  Who knows really?  He would have to think about this sometime when his mind wasn’t fucked up like it was at the moment.

The whole situation was giving him anxiety and he was finding it increasingly hard to breathe.   He needed to get out of there with what dignity he had left.  He needed to get out now!  He wasn’t sure what Erwin was even saying right now.  It seemed like he was just talking in circles and not even really noticing that Levi wasn’t listening. 

Feeling like a caged animal, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.  He silently texted Petra to see if he could stay with her for a while.  Honestly, he would have preferred to stay with Hanji, but that wasn’t possible.  Petra was his closest friend besides Hanji and he knew he could count on her for a shoulder to cry on. 

Petra replied right away.

 

**Petra:**   Of course!  You are always welcome here, you know that.  But is something wrong?

 

_Very perceptive.  Hell yeah, something’s wrong_!

 

**Levi:**   I can’t say right now.  Can you pick me up?

 

_Immediately!  Seriously, like_ this _second!.  I can’t stay in this shit storm anymore!_

 

**Levi:**   NOW?  Please?

 

**Petra:**   Grabbing my keys.  Are you at home or… 

 

**Levi:**   Yes.  Thank you!

 

**Petra:**  I don’t know what the situation is, but please be careful! 

**Petra:**   Be right there.

 

_Thank god._

 

After a while he noticed that Erwin had stopped talking, so he decided he must be finished justifying his actions and therefore Levi could stop pretending he gave a shit.  Erwin had obviously already made his choice and it wasn’t him, so why was he still hanging around?  He got up and without a word, he marched to their bedroom (ha, what a joke!) and packed his overnight bag.  Erwin didn’t follow him, didn’t try to stop him, he just stood where he was in the dining room waiting to see what Levi would do.  When Erwin noticed Levi heading out with his bag, he was suddenly right beside him.  As he exited the house, Levi informed Erwin that he would send for his things.  Erwin seemed shocked that Levi would leave so easily. 

“Just like that, huh?”  The taller man spat out cynically.

“Oh, did you expect an argument from me?  I guess your eloquent monologue was just so well thought out and infallible that there is no room for debate.  You win Erwin.  Clearly.”

Erwin looked like he wanted to say something but his mouth couldn’t form the words.

Just then Levi heard his phone signaling a new message, so he fished it out of his pocket again.

It was a text from Petra.

 

**Petra:**   I’m in your driveway.

 

_Tch.  Not mine anymore!_

Before Levi closed the door after himself, he just had one last thing to say to him. 

“By the way, Erwin,” the blonde man only glared at him, arms crossed.   “Thanks for being a man and ending our relationship properly before whoring around.  Very classy.”

He heard Erwin gasp indignantly and felt momentarily satisfied as he slammed the door shut. 

 

* * * * *

 

A couple of weeks later, Levi was sitting on the floor of his new home with all his boxed up belongings and a bottle of wine.  He knew Mike moved in with Erwin almost overnight and was in fact the one who packed up all his stuff and had it sent to Petra’s.  Just the thought of foreign hands on his precious belongings made him sick to his stomach.  Who knew where that man’s hands had been.  God help those two if any of his shit was broken or otherwise mishandled, he would make them pay!

Levi was lucky that he worked freelance and didn’t have a schedule to adhere to, otherwise he would have been fired for sure with the way his life was going nowadays.  Between all the drinking, depression, having to find a place to live and re-organizing his life he had hardly done any work at all in the past weeks.

The one thing that was making him unexpectedly happy at the moment was his new condo.  It was more like a loft, with tall windows, hardwood floors and brick walls.  His sparse furniture so far was a mix of darks woods, wrought iron, stainless steel appliances and stained glass lamps.  With the recessed lighting, it almost felt like an artsy café, but he loved it.  He even had a small office space that he made into a mini library and workspace.  He set up an old record player in a corner of his living room where it would profit from the best acoustics.

Erwin had always told him that everything in “their” house belonged to both of them, but it was all horse shit.  Erwin was such a prima donna as to what brand he wanted, what style everything had to be and god help them all if the colors didn’t sooth him when he relaxed in his fortress.  Levi hadn’t minded at first because it didn’t really matter to him, and he was _oh so in love_.  Ugh!  The thought of it now made his stomach turn! 

He was on the ground floor so his place had an enclosed patio space with pale pink rose bushes and vines growing on the mesh fence for privacy.  He was planning on having potted herbs growing out there as soon as he could get around to it.  He already had black wrought iron patio furniture set out for when he wanted to relax outside.

His upstairs neighbor was a reclusive author who he almost never saw or heard from.  Plus he travelled a lot, so a lot of the time the upstairs condo was empty.  His neighbors on the side were a retired elderly couple.  They were friendly for sure, but they mostly liked to keep to themselves.  The wife was tending to her small garden every time he'd seen her so far.  He wasn’t sure what the husband did.  So far he really hadn't seen much of him.  It was a relief to realize they were not busybodies who liked to immerse themselves in other people’s problems. 

His place was a corner unit, their section was facing the street and they were situated in front of a park so he didn’t really have any other neighbors besides the elderly couple and the author upstairs.  It was a short walk to a shopping center which had a grocery store, bookstore and coffee shop.  It was a short bus trip to a mall and movie theatre.  The only inconvenience was that it was in close range to the University, so there were a lot of college kids living nearby.  So far he hadn’t seen too many of them, so it was fine. 

Most importantly, it was nowhere near where he used to live.  The chances that he would bump into Erwin or Mike was very slim.  It could still happen, he knew.  But he hoped it wouldn’t be until after he had a car of his own.  That way if they crossed paths he could properly run them over with it.

Overall he was very relaxed and at peace.  It had been really hard at first, but once the pain dulled he noticed he was enjoying the calm of not having to deal with another person’s bullshit.  Not having to worry about what they’d say; not having to care about their feelings; not having to tiptoe around their mood swings.  He felt truly free and maybe just a little guilty for enjoying it so much.

Deciding to get his mind off unpleasant shit and feeling the need to get everything organized, he set about unpacking. 

Many hours later, he was a sweaty mess and tired as hell.  He didn’t have his tv and cable set up yet, so he decided to relax with some light reading.  All his books were still in boxes in the office/library.  He would have to go through them all to find something he hadn’t already read three times.  He almost gave up and was deciding to just take a bath before bed, but then he noticed some of the books on top of one of the boxes weren’t his.  He held one up for inspection.  It was a really big ass book, with a worn dusty blue leather cover.  It had a weird star shape with symbols he was not familiar with.  What was this?  Witchcraft?  Satanry?  He grabbed the other unfamiliar books and upon further perusal concluded they were indeed having to do with the occult.

He had no idea what the symbols and gibberish inside the books were saying, so he put them back on top of the other books in the box.  Before getting up, he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the big blue book and curiosity got the best of him.  His eyes widened when he realized they were notes Hanji had written translating different parts of the volume.  There was no doubt about it, the writing was unmistakably her chicken scratch.  Flipping through the book he noticed there were several of these scattered throughout. 

His jaw dropped when he came upon a very worn note paper that smelled distinctly of ashes.  He nearly dropped the book when he read the header: 

_Demon Summoning_. 

Levi felt a chill run down his spine and he shuddered involuntarily.  Although he didn’t believe in such nonsense, he slammed the book shut and threw it into the bottom drawer of his desk, locking it for safe measure.

“I am NOT drunk enough for this shit!”

What the _hell_ had that woman been up to? 


	2. Sunshine and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh Levi, it's just one of those days...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't aim to update on a Thursday, but there we are.  
> (what is sleep?)

* * *

 

**Petra:**   Levi!  Something’s come up and I might be late. 

**Petra:**   I will still be there, so please don’t leave if I’m not there right away… 

**Petra:**   PLEASE!!!

 

“Oh my god, Petra!” Levi said to himself out loud.  “This is why you don’t have friends.”

It was a beautiful spring day, cool enough to require a light sweater but warm enough where you didn’t need one if you were standing in direct sunlight.  Fall was his favorite season, but spring was a close second despite the fact that the sometimes overpowering stench of flowers gave him migraines.  He smiled the tiniest of smiles as a soft breeze caressed his cheek.

He was just getting home from FedEx.  Hanji’s package had been sent to him directly at the condo but, since he never paid attention to the door thinking it would just be a solicitor, he missed it. 

He couldn’t wait to get home and see what she had sent him.  Maybe this time it would be an actual gift that made sense.  Most of the stuff she sent him didn’t make any sense, but Levi kept all her things in an empty shoebox in his bedroom closet anyway.  So far she’d sent him an unopened envelope addressed to herself, a picture of a lady he’d never met, some candles, the “best” part of a matching pair of friendship necklaces (he liked this one, but didn't want to wear it until she was back), her wallet, a clear box of what he assumed were nuts and bolts (nuts _or_ bolts? hell if he knew), a copy of Esquire magazine and a box of junior mints.

The only item he had ever bothered to ask her about was the letter to herself.  He’d wondered if he should return it to her.  No, no she’d said.  She was sure she gave it to him for a reason, but couldn’t remember just then.  She asked him to just keep it until she could. 

So he did.    

He didn’t care if she sent him an envelope of her nail clippings, he would still keep them. 

They reminded him of Hanji and he missed her. 

 

**Petra:**   Levi?

 

He could almost hear her hyperventilating.

 

He always walked the last stretch home alongside the park.  He tried to avoid actually going through the park at this time of day since it was full of noisy school brats and their gossipy nannies.  Having to spend so much of their time with the youngsters you could see the desperation for adult conversation in their crazed eyes.  It was creepy the way you could feel their gaze trying to trap you into social interaction when you were still some feet away.  Needless to say, Levi avoided those areas of the park like the plague.

 

**Levi:**   Calm your tits, I said I’d be there and I will.

**Levi:**   In your case that shouldn’t take much effort, right?

 

He smirked.  He knew he was touching on a sore spot for Petra, and sure enough her reply was swift.

 

**Petra:**   OMG!!!  How dare you?!?!

**Petra:**   How are we even friends?!?!

**Petra:**   Jerk!!!

 

He laughed out loud at how easily she was riled up. 

 

**Levi:**   No one else will have you, remember?

**Levi:**   Now calm down before I change my mind about the stupid opera… charity… thing.

 

This time it took her a bit longer to reply. 

 

**Petra:**   I didn’t mean it!

**Petra:**   I’m SORRY! 

**Petra:**   Promise me you’ll be there?

 

He sighed loudly.  “Fine!”

 

**Levi:**   Relax, I promise.  You happy now?

**Petra:**   YES!  Thank u!!!

**Petra:**   :D

 

Levi smiled.  He always had a good time when he went out with Petra.  He didn’t know why she always worried so much about it.  Still, he liked to keep her on her toes.

 

**Levi:**   Send me another smiley face and I’ll block your number.

**Petra:**   Sorry!!!

 

Stepping into his condo, Levi took off his shoes and immediately set the package down on his coffee table.  He used a letter opener to break through the tape and gathered those annoying foam peanuts into a bag before they could end up all over his place.  Why the hell had Hanji sent him this in such a big box?  He held up what looked to be a set of ordinary house keys.  Were these hers?  Why would she send him these?  Why would she still even have them?

“Hanji, you idiot,” he said aloud with a barely perceptible fondness in his voice.

With a small smile, he discarded the packaging and went to his bedroom to add the keys to his collection.

 

* * * * *

 

Levi was pissed and someone was going to pay!

_She missed the_ entire _first half!  Really?!_

He was standing by himself- like an idiot- with a glass of wine in hand surveying the crowd for the soon to be deceased Petra.  It was intermission, so everyone was in the lobby.  He had dressed up in charcoal grey slacks, a matching vest, and a light blue button up that brought out his eyes just so Petra wouldn’t be ashamed when introducing him to her other friends.  He usually dressed casually and did not feel comfortable at all.  Even his stupid shiny shoes were killing him. 

He felt like a creeper being there alone.  The wine wasn’t even that good and he knew he would have a headache in the morning.  Nonetheless, he had nothing else to occupy his time at the moment, so he drank as much as they would give him.  He wasn’t exactly a people person, so it wasn’t like he could just walk up to someone and start a conversation.  Plus everyone there was a hundred, so he had nothing in common with them to talk about in the first place.

Intermission was nearly over.  He decided that if Petra didn’t arrive before they stopped letting people back into the theater he wasn’t going back in.  What was the point?  She wouldn’t be able to get in after that anyway.  The thought of kicking off this horribly uncomfortable attire and just lounging comfortably in his condo almost made him smile.

 

Yeah, that didn’t last very long.

 

“Babe, why is your ex here?”

 

Oh no. 

He knew that voice. 

He heard it loud and clear though it was barely above a whisper. 

Levi’s stomach turned to ice.

 

_Oh god, you_ cannot _do this to me!_

 

“That’s a good question.  Levi?” Erwin asked with a high level of annoyance that Levi had never been on the receiving end of before.  “Why _are_ you here?”

Levi turned to face Erwin and his boy toy Mike with as sour a look as he could muster up.  Erwin lived for this kind of event, of course he would be here.  Curse his luck for not even thinking about it.  In the back of his mind he wondered if Petra had known they’d be here.  She must have known.   They were both dressed for the occasion as he would expect.  Erwin was wearing an expensive looking black suit, with a cornflower blue shirt.  Mike was wearing a sharp looking brown one with a forest green dress shirt. 

“It’s a _charity_ event,” he said dismissively.  “In case you were not aware.”

He then turned to leave.  He was not going to waste his time providing entertainment for these assholes. 

But Erwin just couldn’t leave things alone.

Instead he gave a derisive chuckle.  “I guess what I’m asking is, why are you here _by yourself_?  It’s a high profile event.  You must have known I’d be here.” 

 

_Fuck!   Could you be more arrogant?!_

 

Mike gasped softly and spoke to Erwin quietly.

“Has he been showing up like this a lot?  Is he stalking you?  Why haven’t you said anything?”

Erwin only shrugged at Mike innocently, as though to say ‘I don’t know,’ before taking a leisurely sip of his wine.

Levi focused on breathing through his nose, his patience dangerously near an end. 

“I am not _stalking_ anyone, shithead!  I am meeting someone here, but she’s not here yet.  All right?  Just drop it!”

“Oh?”  The way Erwin enunciated that one word alone made Levi’s blood boil.  “You’re meeting someone.  A _girl_?  And she’s not here yet?”  He exaggeratedly scanned the room.  “Hmm…Intermission’s almost over.” 

Was it possible for Erwin to sound any more like a douche?

“So what?” Levi managed to say evenly through clenched teeth, though he was nearly crushing his wineglass by now.

“Well, I guess it’s safe to say that you’re either _lying_ ,” Erwin was clearly now laughing at him, his freaking eyes were twinkling with glee. “Or she’s stood you up.”

Levi could feel his control snap just as the glass he was holding shattered under his grip’s pressure.

He barely registered the look of concern that Mike gave Erwin.  He could see that Mike was trying to lead Erwin away from there.  Erwin ignored him and could not be budged.

“Either way,” Erwin just didn’t know when to shut up.  “It’s pretty pathetic.”

 

Maybe it was the alcohol in his system.

 

Maybe it was the fact that his good day had turned to shit when Petra hadn’t showed up when she promised she would.

 

Maybe it was the fact that Mike was there begging Erwin to leave, but Erwin wasn’t listening to his own goddamned boyfriend.

 

Erwin wanted a fight, and he knew how to get one.

 

Levi’s fist connected to Erwin’s jaw before he even realized he was moving.  The impact of his blow knocked them both down.  Levi landed on top of Erwin and grabbed his shirt collar to give him leverage as he intended to knock the shit out of him.  He brought down his fist and could feel slick blood ooze along his knuckles as their bones crunched in an ugly union again and again.  He felt Mike grab him from behind as he raised his fist yet again to break the smug bastard’s nose for good measure.  He cursed when he missed because of Mike’s interference.  His vice like grip caused him to tear the expensive silk of Erwin’s shirt collar, but he still did not let go.  His fingers were contorted in weird angles and he wasn’t sure he could even feel them anymore.  

Erwin, the son of a bitch, wasn’t even fighting back!  He just lay there with a satisfied smirk.

The few people who had not re-entered the theatre had started panicking.  Women were screaming, men were darting back and forth, some wanting to escape the scuffle, some wanting to get a better aim with their cell phone cameras.  Someone called the ushers, who in turn finally called the police.

When the police arrived, all three were thrown out of the theater, all three were all banned from ever coming back.  At least _that_ was fair, Levi thought bitterly.  Erwin and Mike left immediately.  Levi could hear Mike trying to make sense of Erwin’s actions, but it sounded like a one sided conversation.  Erwin wasn’t responding to any of his questions.  Something wasn’t right in that relationship, but Levi didn’t care enough to dwell on it too much.

 

He was just about to call a taxi when freaking Petra walked into view from the street.

“Levi!” she called out before meeting him on the steps.  “I’m so sorry!  I got a flat tire and just now got here.”

Levi could only stare at her incredulously.  Of course this would happen to him.

She stopped suddenly when she saw how roughed up he was.

“Levi… what happened to you?!” 

 

* * * * *

 

Levi didn’t smoke, so the only way he knew how to calm down after such a shitty evening was by drinking himself to oblivion.  He had ignored all of Petra’s attempts to find out what happened on the ride home.  He was struggling to give her the benefit of the doubt as to her possible involvement, or at least her having prior knowledge of tonight’s attendees.  It was easier now to just put off thinking about it until he was calmer.  He went straight for the good stuff as soon as he was safely back home, on his couch, in front of the TV. 

Soon enough, nothing mattered. 

Not to say that he wasn’t pissed at Erwin anymore.  Oh no, he wanted to sink that bastard. 

The problem was that he didn’t have anything to use against Erwin.  Unlike that jerk, Levi wasn’t going to involve others if he could help it.  He almost felt sorry for Mike with the way Erwin didn’t take him into account tonight.  It reminded him of how their relationship used to be, but now Mike was the one living it.  Poor chump.  He should have another glass in solidarity with him. 

 

Maybe a couple more…

 

His thoughts started to scatter and his mind eventually brought him back to Hanji.  He missed her so much.  She would do something so incredibly stupid at this point that would completely take his mind off his shitty life.  He thought of the set of keys she had sent him.  He thought of his little collection of her items in his shoebox. 

He remembered the books he had come across when he was unpacking.  Those belonged to Hanji too.  He should put them in the shoebox because that was her stuff.  She might ask for them and he needed to have them ready for her.

 

The rest of the evening was becoming difficult for his mind to decipher.  He knew he was in his office looking for Hanji’s books, but he wasn’t sure if he got them or not. 

Did he get those books?  What about the stupid big blue one? 

 

Then he needed salt for some reason. 

What was he doing, cooking? 

 

His living room stunk to high hell.  Whatever he’d been trying to cook must’ve burned.

Oh well, he’d figure it out tomorrow.

 

The last thing he was cognizant of was that he was staring at glowing yellow eyes. 

 

Cat eyes? 

 

But where would a cat have come from? 


	3. Be Careful What You Wish For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't you love hangovers? It's time to pay the piper.

* * *

 

******

Wake up.

 

_Shut up brain, I just want to sleep!_

It’s hot.  The sun’s out.  You should obviously be awake.

 

_Can’t I skip being awake today?_

 

 No.

 

_OH MY GOD!   I feel like such crap…_

You hear that?  Those are people outside being productive members of society.

 

_I don’t care!_

 

_…_

 

Fine.  I’m going to make you SO UNCOMFORTABLE.  Soooo uncomfortable…

 

_Somebody please kill me…_

**

As much as he had fought against having to do so, Levi opened his eyes and sat up in his bed.  He was filled with instant regret as his head pounded violently making the bedroom spin and his stomach lurch.  It was almost in unison. 

 

Synchronized fuckers. 

 

What the hell had he been thinking packing it away like it was water last night?  He wasn’t a fucking teenager anymore.  He felt betrayed by alcohol but chose to blame it on the cheap opera wine rather than his precious white russians. 

 

He noted it was late afternoon, so he pretty much had slept all day.  No wonder he’d been sweaty and uncomfortable under his sheets, as if he didn’t feel gross enough!  The sun always shone directly onto his bed in the noontime hours.  At least the hottest time of day had passed and he wouldn’t have to hide under his sheets from the offending light for much longer.  He knew he needed some strong coffee and a couple painkillers, but at the same time he knew any movement on his part could provoke revisiting his dinner.

 

Levi carefully slid his legs over the side of the bed and winced when his stomach protested even that much movement.  He took deep breaths to calm his queasiness; took a couple more moments to regret his life decisions; then slowly slid out of bed. 

 

Slowly but surely he made his way to the hallway where life yet again gave him the finger.  It was faint at first, but as he moved forward it became more and more overpowering.  He couldn’t place the smell and didn’t have time to dwell on it because whatever it was triggered his gut and his gag reflex went into overdrive.    

  

“WHAT-THE-FUCK!” Levi yelled as he ran straight to the bathroom, desperately covering his mouth lest there should be spillage. 

Oh god, his stomach was so cramped! 

 

And what the hell was THAT?  He didn’t even remember eating _that_! 

 

Levi was kneeling on the cool tiles of his bathroom floor, struggling to keep from collapsing with all the exertion his stomach muscles were currently undergoing, head bent over the toilet bowl, body trembling pitifully.  In other words, the traditional pose of hangover shame complete with a cold sweat.  His only comfort was the knowledge that he would feel so much better after he was done evacuating his gut.

 

Once he felt nearly willing to exist amongst the living again, a trembling Levi rinsed off and meticulously brushed his teeth before heading towards the kitchen.  He needed some coffee.  Coffee!  Now!  And drugs.  Coffee would make everything ok.

 

Slowly he crept along, hand against the wall because he was still dizzy as fuck.  He rubbed his throbbing temple with his other hand. 

 

Upon stepping foot into his living room, he was met with a sight so unlikely he was sure he was either dreaming or hallucinating. 

 

Because no. 

 

This was NOT happening. 

 

_What the actual fuck?!_

 

There was a fucking teenager sitting in the middle of his living room where his coffee table should be.  The table itself was shoved off to the side, random things were scattered on top of it and all around his living room for that matter.  His living room.  It was a mess!  His hands itched with need to correct this travesty.  How had his life come to this?  For some reason, the salt sitting on top of the coffee table tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it meant.

 

The kid was just sitting there one knee bent with his elbow resting on it and his head resting on his hand.  He was eyeing him impatiently, tapping the fingers of his free hand on the carpet like he was waiting for Levi to do something; like he was put out because Levi wasn’t attending to his needs.  He seemed almost bored as well, like it was perfectly normal that he should be there.  Upon closer inspection, he seemed a little older than a high school teen.  Probably a college kid, yeah that would make more sense.  Oh great, he was probably a fraternity brat up to no good.  Maybe he should just call the cops.

 

“Oh, you are finally awake?” 

 

The way he said it made it sound like he’d just now noticed Levi was there even though he’d been staring at him since he walked into view.

 

Levi turned around and slowly crept back to his bedroom.

 

“Wait!  Where are you going?” the teen yelled out to him. 

 

Sitting down on his bed, he brought his hands up and covered his face.  He knew he wasn’t dreaming, but he wanted so much for this to _not_ be happening. 

 

“You cannot keep me here forever…”

 

What the hell did he even mean by that?  He shouldn’t even be here, why didn’t he just _leave_?

 

“No one's keeping you here, so just- just go away!” he yelled.  He heard the teen sigh heavily.  “Look, I don’t want any problems and if you just leave I promise I won’t call the cops, ok?”

 

The teen chuckled.  “You already know I cannot.”

 

What did he mean by that?  Ok, so he wasn’t going to be cooperative.  Levi would have to put on his big boy pants and deal with him despite his inner desire to hide under his pillows until everything magically returned to normal.  Cursing under his breath, he headed back to face life. 

 

Back in the living room, he was met with the brat sitting Indian style now, still looking at him expectantly.  Upon closer inspection, Levi found that he was actually quite attractive.  He had messy brown hair cut in a layered edgy look that suited him perfectly, tan skin and large expressive eyes that shone like the facets of expensive emeralds.  He was dressed in a charcoal grey band t-shirt, a black sleeveless hoodie and dark blue skinny jeans.  Black fingerless gloves matched the black leather choker he wore around his neck.  He eyed Levi warily, head still resting on his hand, looking even more bored than before if that was even possible.

 

“Why exactly?”

 

“Hmm?” the kid arched his brow in question.

 

“Why can’t you leave my house?”

 

He did not hide his surprise at Levi’s question.  Though the flash of hurt that followed was so quick Levi almost thought he imagined it.  He composed himself quickly though, and soon enough he was gazing at Levi with the same bored look as before.

 

“You do not remember.”  It wasn’t a question.

 

It struck Levi that the manner in which he spoke was a little off.  His voice was a little deeper than should be for a kid his age; a little bored, very condescending, nearing monotonous.  It was irritating.

 

“I should have known,” he stretched his arms above his head and yawned loudly before continuing.  “You were quite tipsy.  Wasted beyond belief, actually, if we are splitting hairs.”

 

He smiled up at him with such mischief in his expression that he reminded Levi of Cheshire cat.

 

Levi was beginning to feel panic.  The kid wasn’t here as the result of a prank, or hoax.  Apparently, in his drunken haze he himself had invited him over.  But why?  And most importantly, what did they do all night?  He felt his face heat as the possibilities presented themselves in his imagination, none of them platonic.  He prayed the kid was at least of legal age.

 

“Relax, nothing like that happened.”  It was as though he had read his mind. 

 

“How did…I mean- what are you talking about?”

 

“It is not so hard to guess.  It is a common _human_ crime that happens, am I correct?” he didn’t wait for Levi to answer.  “There was nothing slipped into your drink, you did not solicit me, we have not so much as shaken hands.”

 

“Oh,” Levi said lamely as the information sunk in. 

_Then why was he here?_

 

“Why am I here?”

 

Levi jumped.  Had he said that out loud?

 

The kid chuckled at Levi’s jitteriness.  “I do not care to explain something you yourself have caused.  We had quite the lengthy conversation about this last night.  I will give you a clue though.”  He pointed at the coffee table.

 

“What?”  Levi was still confused.  “Is it the salt?  Are you a new neighbor that I borrowed salt from?”

 

The kid scoffed.  Levi knew he was grasping at straws, but he really could not fathom any reason why this guy would be here.  No rational reason, anyway.

 

“Yes and no.  The answer is within your book.”

 

Levi walked over to the coffee table slowly, dreading he already knew what he would find there. 

 

Yes, there it was, unmistakably.  Hanji’s big blue book of witchcraft, or voodoo or whatever.  Opened to the page with the notes he’d found back when he was unpacking.  It was the source of the stench that currently permeated his condo. 

 

_No, this isn’t real.  It has to be a stupid hoax.  Damn college kids._

 

Despite the nervousness he can’t dismiss settling in his stomach, Levi calmly turned back to the stranger in his living room.

 

“So, what you’re saying is…”

 

_Oh god, there had better not be anyone hiding somewhere recording his reaction, because he would not last in jail._

 

The kid by now was clearly exasperated.  He was standing with his arms crossed and rolled his eyes when he saw Levi’s hesitation.

 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.  I am Eren!  Those instructions are for summoning _me_.  I am a demon!”

 

Despite the evidence so far, Levi was not convinced.  More than anything, he wanted desperately for this to not be true. 

 

“Oh, yeah?  Prove it.”

 

“Again?  Really?”

 

_Again?_

 

_Shit._

 

 

“I suppose it cannot be helped as you are suffering from memory loss.  Or so you say.”  Levi wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard him mutter ‘ _puny weaklings’_ under his breath.  “Just so you know,” he continued as he removed one of the gloves from his hand.  “You were much better company last night.” 

 

Levi wasn’t sure what he was expecting.  Smoke and mirrors to be honest.  Some kind of magic trick that could somehow be explained away.  He was not prepared for what followed.

 

Eren held out the glove to him and smirked before saying, “Here.  Take it from me.”

 

Levi crossed the few steps between them and reached out to take the glove.  But as soon as he touched it he felt a jolt of electricity surge at the point of contact with his fingertips.  He yelped in pain and simultaneously jumped back in shock.

 

His eyes widened upon noticing that Eren was standing in the middle of a pentagram that he could have sworn was not there before.  It wasn’t so much a tangible thing as it was a mist, a smoky pattern that swirled here and there in hues of moss and crimson.  Within the pentagram, it formed figures like he had seen in the blue book.  It was a good thing Levi had already puked his guts out before this, because he was feeling sick to his stomach all over again. 

 

“You are now convinced, yes?” Eren asked him with a lopsided smile.

 

“Yes,” Levi said mechanically.  He was too mortified to feel anything.

 

“Good, then you can let me go now.  I have been sitting here all night while you passed out without a care.  I require rest.”

 

_Oh shit._

 

Levi bit his lip, not sure how to break the news to this demon. 

 

“Well, that may be sort of a problem.”

 

“A problem,” Eren’s monotonous voice, was starting to find some emotion.  Unfortunately, it was not the kind Levi would want.  “What kind of a _problem_?”

 

_Fuck my life!_

_Ok, just get this overwith.  He’s trapped, right?  He can’t do anything, right?_

 

He prayed for his own sake he was correct, because he knew this was not going to sit well with the demon.

 

“I don’t know how.”

 

“What?!”  Eren growled, his eyes glowing yellow with anger. 

 

_Shit!_

 

_Now what?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't see that coming, did you?


	4. Where Loyalties Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two boys trying to resolve a not so everyday situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more like the second part of the last chapter, BUT things will be revealed...

* * *

****

Eren was staring at Levi like a disappointed parent deciding on a punishment. 

Levi had been nervous as hell about it.  He really had been.  He was disconcerted with the idea of raging demon anger; unsettled by freaky ass glowing eyes and understandably upset by smoky circles that acted as tasers.  Come on, who wouldn’t be?  He thought of himself as a rational man, it was perfectly acceptable that when one of Satan’s spawn unexpectedly drops into your living room, it may be a little off-putting.

He was _not_ concerned, however, about a demon who was apparently powerless because ‘oh no!’ he was trapped and therefore he was gonna pout about it.  He was fucking pouting!  Like a damn child.  Really? 

He’d left him there in the middle of his living room to go make coffee in his kitchen.  The hell with him.  He did still have a hangover to nurse, did he not? 

Priorities.

Every time he glanced at him over the island dividing the two spaces, he was met with the same belligerent golden orbs.  Levi would just roll his eyes and go back to ignoring him.  He’d taken some advil already with a full glass of water and could feel it finally starting to kick in.  Of course, that did nothing for the tension knotting up in his shoulder blades, but that couldn’t be helped at the moment.

He felt the burn of Eren’s gaze follow his every movement.  It was really getting under his skin.  The need to get him back to his dimension, or wherever it was that Eren called home, so that he could clean up the goddamn mess in his usually immaculate living room was getting overwhelming.  He was beginning to feel the itch in the palm of his hands and knew if he didn’t take care of it soon he’d be breaking out into hives.  He carried his cup over to the living room, set it down on a coaster and got busy going through Hanji’s book to see if there was something in it that could help him out of this situation.  He almost tossed away the book not a moment after cracking it open, his nose scrunched up in horror, his offended tear ducts went into overdrive.  The assault of his senses was swift and took no prisoners.   He desperately covered his face with the sleeve of his shirt, struggled to control his breathing, his gag reflex was threatening to choke him again.  _What the hell_ was that damn smell?  It had smelled like ashes when he’d first found it but now it was…Ugh!  He wasn’t sure how to describe something so… _foul_.  Rancid?  Putrid?

“It is sulfur,” Eren filled in his thoughts. 

Levi frowned while turning to give the demon a glare.  Had he said that out loud?  He wasn’t so sure. 

Eren scoffed.  “No, I cannot read your mind.  I was guessing by your expressions.” 

Something in Eren’s voice had shifted.  Levi looked up from the book to regard the demon.  His stance suggested he was no longer angry, or at least not as much.  His eyes had stopped glowing as well.  Levi felt some of his tension evaporate upon seeing the vibrant green once more.  Eren stretched his arms in front of himself, then battled to stifle a yawn but lost.  The sound was so normal Levi couldn’t help but be surprised.  He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting.  Perhaps a thunderous prelude followed by a roar of fire?  Maybe.  That might be kind of cool, actually.  Without ceremony, he plopped back down onto the floor resuming his previous bored state.

“I’m not sure if I’ll find anything useful in here to be honest.”  And Levi was being sincere, he had no idea what went through Hanji’s mind when she went into one of her frenzied obsessive stages.

Eren‘s expression oozed of gloomy acceptance. 

Great, now Levi felt guilty about letting down a stupid demon.

“You really do not know how to compel me back to my realm?” Eren looked up at him dejectedly.

Arrrgh!  What was with those huge sad saucer eyes? 

“Tch.  I don’t even know how I got you here in the first place,” Levi deadpanned.

Eren sighed heavily, his brow furrowed in confusion.  He regarded Levi for a moment before saying, “Well, I suppose that explains the salt then.”

“What?”

“The salt.  It is not required for this sort of thing,” he motioned to the circle surrounding him.

Levi turned his steely gaze to the salt still sitting atop his coffee table.  That stupid salt kept coming up as a stray thought in his mind, but he still could not for the life of him remember what it was for.

“Honestly, I thought I got that out to cook something.  Maybe I was hungry.”

Eren laughed.  It was unrestrained, melodious, resonant.  It was such an unexpected sound, Levi lost his composure and nearly dropped Hanji’s book.  Is this what all demons were like?  Just normal awkward people who happened to also have scary ass powers?

 “And here I thought you were going to make margaritas once you were out of vodka,” Eren quipped. He was hardly able to contain his wicked smile, his mischievous eyes bright with glee.

Levi turned green at the thought of more drinks, which made Eren howl.  Cursing under his breath while trying to ignore Eren’s ridicule, Levi pretended to study the notes again.  It was no use really, he couldn’t make out what she meant and was having a hard time concentrating anyway.

“Levi?”

Levi’s heart stopped.  Eren knew his name.  The demon knew his name!  It had rolled off his tongue in such a way that suggested he was familiar with it, that he’d uttered it many times before.  He hadn’t told him his name that he could remember, but he supposed he must have told him sometime last night.  Despite the logical explanation, it was still unsettling.

He schooled his expression before answering, “What?”

“If you really do not know how to release me…” he let the sentence hang in the air. 

When Eren took his time deciding whether he was going to finish that thought or not, Levi supposed he was waiting for some kind of affirmation.  Damn brat!  Hadn’t he already told him he didn’t know how?

 “I already said I don’t, alright?  Believe me, I would _really_ love for you to get the heck out of here, but I don’t know how thorough Hanji’s trans-“

“Hanji?” Eren cut him off upon hearing her name.  He shot up from his sitting postion, suddenly at attention, body tense.

“Yeah, that shitty-“

“How do you know Hanji?” 

The question surprised Levi.  “What?” 

“What is your relation to Hanji?” Eren repeated impatiently.

He wanted to know how he knew Hanji?  Why? 

“Wait, do _you_ know Hanji?”

“Let me see the notes,” Eren said with increasing hostility. 

Wow he was rude.  “How about a ‘please’, your highness?”

“It is for _your_ benefit that I confirm your statements, _human_ ,” Eren growled. 

Oh, now he was the ‘human’ again?  Levi scowled. 

“Bring the book!”

Levi huffed, but complied.  It probably wasn’t a good idea to get on the demon’s bad side.  He held the book open in front of Eren, but made sure to avoid getting too close to the pentagram he knew was there.  It irked him that he had to hold it up a little higher than he normally would since Eren was taller. 

Eren studied the writing for some time and Levi could see his demeanor subtly change.  The frown lines slowly disappeared as his brow muscles relaxed.  There was a hint of a smile tugging at his lip’s corner.

“Hanji.”

Levi wasn’t sure if he was hearing things now, because Eren’s voice sounded softer when he’d spoken her name.  He’d said it with a fondness and that took the edge off Levi’s annoyance.  It gave him a bit of hope for this awful situation.

But just then something clicked inside Levi’s brain that tilted his reality like when someone flushed the toilet when you were enjoying a hot shower.

“HOLY SHIT!” 

The shock of realization made Levi suck in a harsh breath as he exclaimed, “OH MY GOD!!!”

Hanji’s book fell on the floor, notes went flying in all directions, some getting zapped when they made contact with the circle.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Eren demanded.

Levi ignored the demon and instead began pacing, hands digging in his hair, eyes wide in agitation.

“Shit!  Shit!” Levi repeated as he struggled to come to terms with his revelation.  “Shit shit shit shit shit…”

“Levi!” Eren growled impatiently.

Levi stopped pacing abruptly and turned to point an accusing finger at Eren.

“ _You_ know Hanji!  Fuck!!!”

“I think we already established that, smart guy.  Can you stop?” 

“That’s _why_!” Levi declared as though it should be obvious.    “Oh my god!”

Eren looked beyond irritated at this point.  “What is your point?!”

“Eren,” Levi shouted.  “Hanji’s in a mental institution!”

Eren’s eyes widened in surprise.  “What?  Why?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Levi answered motioning towards Eren.  “Because of you!”

The demon took offense to this statement.  “How is that _my_ fault?”

“Because, _Eren_ ,” Levi could not keep the sarcasm from his voice.  “ _Normal_ people do NOT believe they have spoken to _demons_!”

Eren, for once, seemed to be at a loss for words.  A strew of emotions flashed across his face as he digested Levi’s words, mulling them over.

“Oh,” he mumbled finally.  “Well, shit.”

At least he had the decency to look guilty. 

“She’s not crazy!  Holy crap!  I have to get her out of there!”  Levi continued to panic.

“I wondered why she had not contacted me in so long,” Eren mused.

“Shit!”  Levi continued his cursing.  “Fuck!  Shit!”

What could he possibly do?  It’s not like he could go over there and say ‘hey, I can prove she’s not crazy because demons do exist!  Ta da!’  He’d get locked up right with her.  Deflated he plunked down on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

“Levi?”

Levi turned his head to glare icily at Eren.  He was irrationally angry with him for being the cause even though he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he needed to direct his hostility somewhere.

“We need to get her out of there.”

What?  What did he mean ‘we?’

“Excuse me?”

“We need to get Hanji out-“

“I know what you said,” Levi interrupted.  “How do you plan to do that?”

He knew as soon as Eren’s gaze dropped to the floor that he wasn’t going to like this.

“Well,” he started slowly.  “I could help you.  It would be infinitely easier than if you tried by yourself.”

Levi considered the situation.  He did have powers and whatnot, so that was _probably_ true.  But there were a couple of potential problems with that.  The first and foremost being the same problem they’d been having all day with the seal.  The second being that he was a freaking demon!  With powers and whatnot!

“But you’re stuck.”

“I can get out,” Eren started with no small amount of hesitation.  “But…”

He could get out?  Why the fuck was he still in there then?!

“But what?!” Levi bit out losing patience.

“I did not mention it before because you may not like it.  You _most likely_ will not like it, in fact.”

Levi considered that he had a point and it would most likely be true.  But…

“Hanji is more important.”

“It requires you break your seal.”

Levi still didn’t understand what he was getting at.  “I don’t even know how to do that, or have you forgotten?”

Eren bit his lip.  His indecision was not exactly filling Levi with confidence.

“I can show you how to break the seal.”

Motherfucker!

Levi shot off the sofa and stalked angrily towards Eren.

“And you didn’t feel the need to mention this before because…?” he seethed.

“I knew you would get angry,” Eren grinned impishly.  He seemed suddenly excited about the situation.  Levi wanted to knock the excitement off his stupid face. 

“I would be released,” he continued.  “But into _your_ world.  Free to do as I want.”

Eren did not tear his gaze from Levi's even as he covered his mouth to muffle his soft chuckle.

Levi blinked.

“What?!”

 

****


	5. Pandora's Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is finally released and proceeds to make friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like a transition chapter. Trying to escape the hoopla of manga Ch 57 if you know what I mean! Wow...

* * *

 

 

“So I just have to smear it?” Levi asked for what seemed to Eren to be like the billionth time.

“Yes,” Eren assured him trying to contain his urge to sigh impatiently.  “You just have to break the continuity of your circle and then I can esca- I mean get out.”

Levi glared up at him to let him know he didn’t miss that little slip up.  Eren just smiled back at him with large innocent eyes.  “Remind me again how I know I can trust you _not_ to cause mayhem while you’re out?”

Eren gave a short crazed laugh, which did not fill Levi with confidence.  “Levi, I already told you, demons cannot lie.”

“But they can probably skip around the truth,” Levi raised an eyebrow at him.  “Right?”

Eren just shrugged.

“Great,” Levi muttered under his breath. 

He would probably go to hell for this.  He would most likely go to hell regardless.  At least this way Hanji would be free.  She’d know what to do with this clown.

He got down on one knee and took a deep breath before reaching out to the floor near the bottom of the circle.  Slowly and carefully he wiped the floor with the palm of his hand from the outside in towards the demon.  He didn’t see the way Eren’s eyes glowed brighter and brighter as he got closer to breaking the seal.   Levi cringed when he felt the sticky substance the circle was made of.  It was slimy and disgusting!  His skin was crawling just looking at it, he dared not think what it might actually be.

“Ugh!” he barely got the chance to say before he was instantaneously attacked.  Suddenly he was on his back, pinned to the floor and struggling to get away from a highly amused Eren.  At first Levi was shocked and genuinely concerned Eren would hurt him, but that feeling subsided quickly when he noticed the demon was laughing uncontrollably at his plight.

“Wow!  I can’t believe you fell for that!” Eren gasped in between peals of laughter.  “Levi, you can’t trust demons, what’s wrong with you?!”

“Get off of me, you filthy mongrel!” Levi yelled indignantly as he struggled to be free of Eren’s abnormally powerful grip. 

“Mmmm,” Eren growled burying his head in Levi’s neck.  He sniffed the hair behind Levi’s ear, then slowly nudged his way down his neck sniffing him all along the way until he finally got to his shoulder where he took a playful nip.  “I can’t decide if I am going to eat you or make you my mindless slave.” 

“You shitty turd!”  Levi growled, forcing himself to sound offended even though he was a little shaken up.  “If those two are my only options then you better kill me now.  There’s no way I’m going to serve _you_!”

The demon burst into another fit of laughter after hearing this declaration.  Levi scowled with all his might until Eren realized he was not going to play along. 

“Aw.  Hanji’s right, you’re no fun,” he finally let Levi go and got up. 

He stretched out his hand offering to help Levi up.  Levi took his hand but continued to glare daggers at him. 

“Hanji talked to you about me?”  Levi asked genuinely surprised and maybe a little concerned.

“All the time, but I didn’t know it was you because she never said your name.   Just ‘my best friend this’ and ‘my best friend that.’  Ya know?”  Levi felt an ache in his chest at the reminder of his friend.  At least now they could go get her.  “Anyway, I was only teasing, but I’m too tired now.”

As if to prove his point, he stretched lazily and headed towards Levi’s bedroom not bothering to stifle a yawn.  Levi ran to the kitchen to clean off his grubby hand, then quickly followed Eren to make sure the brat wasn’t causing him any more nightmares.  He hadn’t been able to make his bed yet since he’d spent all his waking hours that day wallowing in full hangover glory, so it was still messy and Eren had just thrown himself stomach first on top of it without bothering to straighten it out or even move under the covers.  He was still fully clothed too.  Levi was disgusted.  Who knew where in _literal_ hell those filthy converse had been?

“Filthy brat!” he barked out.  “Are you going to sleep in your clothes?  You can borrow some of my pajamas.”

“Nah, s’okay” Eren yawned into the pillow he was hugging.

“At least take your goddamn shoes off!”

Eren groaned and twisted around in the sheets but didn’t comply.

“Levi!”  Eren whined.  “So tiiiired!”

“I don’t care!  I’m not letting you get any rest until at least those come off!” he yelled pointing at Erens’ shoes.

Eren giggled and turned to give Levi a pointed look. 

“Oh?”

The air shifted around Eren and to Levi’s horror next thing he knew Eren was laying there almost bare naked on his bed!

Levi froze.  Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe, his mind not able to comprehend what he was seeing.

Eren howled. 

“Oh my god, Levi!  Your face!” 

Levi had never felt his face hotter in his life!  He couldn’t force any words to come out, but even if he could he knew they would be unintelligible.  He quickly left the room before making a bigger ass of himself, cursing inwardly the whole time.  Eren’s laughter trailed after him.

“At least I kept my undies on!” he called out after him.  “Woo!”

Mortified, Levi turned on the TV to muffle out Eren’s voice in case the brat didn’t stop his ridicule.  Then he went to the kitchen to finally clean up the mess from the night before.  Usually, cleaning up helped Levi relax, it helped him focus on nice things and gave him a sense of serenity. 

So why wasn’t it working tonight?! 

That stupid demon!  That loud mouthed jerk!  Damn him!

He cleaned his entire kitchen, living room and entry way.  Everything was so clean he could eat off it, it damn well sparkled.   But still he could not get the images of a near naked Eren out of his head.  That soft silky tan skin, those well defined broad shoulders, the way his forearms looked as he hugged his pillow, those back muscles, the way his black boxers fit him oh so snug leaving nothing to the imagination.  The way his muscles shifted under his skin with each movement…

Levi grabbed some leftovers from his fridge and hid in his office to work on his current project until the early morning hours, determined to rid himself of these inappropriate feelings.  As much as Eren did look the part of a college fraternity brat, Levi wasn’t a hormonal teenager.  He wasn’t!  And demons weren’t supposed to look like that.  Weren’t they supposed to be grotesque, with scaly skin and tails?  Stupid Eren!  Why wasn’t he following the rules?

Finally Levi finished the project that was supposed to take him three days in that night.  Exhausted, but thankfully too tired to let his mind wander anymore he took a quick shower.  Once he had toweled off and changed into his pajamas, he grabbed a pillow and spare blanket from his linen closet and drifted off to sleep in his couch.  At least the day was finally over.  Tomorrow he would need to figure things out, but that was another day.

 

*  *  *  *

 

Levi had tired himself out so well he slept like a log that night.  He woke up the next morning feeling absolutely refreshed and ready to whip that demon into shape.  Today they would figure out how they were going to get Hanji out of the Sister Rose Institution for the Criminally Insane.  He still couldn’t figure out how a little bit of uranium illegally in your possession suddenly made you a criminal as well as mentally unstable.  Well, that was for the NSA to worry about, he supposed.  Leave it to Hanji to end up there and not just a regular nut house.  It would have been infinitely easier to get her out of one of _those_ facilities.

He turned to check his alarm for the time and instantly his good mood dissipated.  He didn’t have an alarm clock in his living room!  He sat up and realized he was sleeping in his own bed.  When had this occurred?!  He didn’t sleepwalk that he knew of, so that brat must have brought him in.  Not sure how to feel about that, he got up to brush his teeth, changed into regular clothes and then went in search of the exhibitionist in question.

Eren was nowhere to be found, however there was a pot of coffee waiting for him and a note on the refrigerator that said:

**Breakfast in the microwavey machiney thingie? IDK…**

Levi found it immensely weird that the note smelled of ashes.  There really wasn’t going to be anything normal about that boy, was there?  He opened the microwave and found toast, eggs and bacon on a plate still warm.  Well, he could get used to this!  Levi smiled since there was no one around to call him on it and sat down to enjoy the first breakfast he could remember not having to make for himself.

When he was done he washed and put away the dishes then headed back to his office to review last night’s work.   As he got closer to the entryway, he heard a rather loud conversation happening just outside his condo.  He was slightly annoyed that people would hang out so nearby his home and rudely break the quiet serenity that he so enjoyed.  It sounded like more college punks too.  He was just about to ask them to go talk elsewhere when he heard Eren’s distinctive laughter out there amongst them.  On the one hand, he was concerned because innocent people might be in danger.  Totally his fault, by the way.  On the other hand, they seemed to be having a good time.  Maybe he was a little curious too, but he’d never admit it. 

The decision was taken out of his hands when Eren walked in the door with the hooligans in tow.  Like he owned the place! 

“Oh, hey you’re awake!” he declared when his eyes landed on him.  “Look, I found some neighbors.  Guys, this is Levi.”

Levi tried his best to not look hostile.  That was the best he could do in lieu of an actual smile. 

“Hey,” he said only and waved a little.

“And Levi,” Eren continued.  “These are a couple of our neighbors, Jean and Marco.”

“Hey!” the one called Jean said with a cocky grin.  He had sandy colored hair and hazel eyes.  He supposed he would be considered attractive, he was tall, he was in good shape, but he gave off the impression of being totally full of himself.  Levi shook his hand when offered.  Sure enough he had the firm hand shake of someone who was trying too hard.

“Nice to meet you Levi!” the one called Marco said next.  They were like day and night.  Marco’s smile was like freaking sunshine.  His eyes crinkled with genuine warmth and his freckles made him immediately endearing.  He took Levi’s hand in both of his and made barely enough contact so as not to offend, but just enough to let you know he wasn’t repulsed by you either.  Levi decided he liked Marco.

The two boys were dressed like regular boys their age.  Jean was wearing a baby blue t-shirt with the numbers 00 in yellow on the back, khakis and brown leather shoes.  Marco was wearing a plain grey t-shirt underneath a grey and red flannel with dark skinny jeans and red converse.

Eren though. 

What the hell was that boy thinking?  It had taken a concerted effort for Levi to tear his eyes away from the brat to even look at his new friends because he couldn’t fathom the thought process behind Eren’s choice of clothes.  Where did he even get them?  Did he poof them up just like he undressed last night?  Whoah, don’t even go there!  Levi forced himself to stay in the present because that was just asking for trouble all over again.

Eren was dressed in a shiny red t-shirt so tight it looked like it was painted on, dark skinny jeans that accentuated his form beautifully and brought attention to his shapely long legs.  He wore a black leather jacket, his fingerless leather gloves that matched his leather choker again and kick ass boots.  He looked like a freaking video game villain.  All he needed was a black vigilante hat.  Were those earrings?  He didn’t have those last night!

 Levi wondered what Jean and Marco thought of the way Eren looked.  They seemed to either not notice or not mind in the slightest.  Levi felt old around these guys, maybe he should just leave them to their thing.  He would have to talk to Eren later.

“Well, it’s nice meeting you both.  I was just going to get some work done,” he said as hospitably as he could manage.  “I’ll just be in my office, don’t mind me.  Make yourselves at home.”

Eren grabbed his sleeve to stop him just as he was walking past him.

“Wait Levi,” he said.

Levi looked at him questioningly.  He seemed excited for some reason.

“The guys were talking about going go-karting later and asked if we wanted to join them.  Can we please?” Eren pleaded, his eyes wide like a puppy.

Levi felt slightly uncomfortable about this.

“What’s go-karting?”

The boys all smiled widely, their eyes shining wickedly. 

Levi felt like a deer in the headlights.

Oh boy.


	6. Let the games begin!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are off to the races, where the they make more friends. And Levi gets a first glimpse of Eren's dark side...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I was short changing you guys with such short chapters, so this one is longer. Also, it seems everyone updates Thursday, so not going to do that anymore. Hope you enjoy! (What's with those 10K chapters? I like sleeping, and eating, and lyfe...)

 

* * *

 

_Getting Levi angry was the surest way to make him spring into action.  Ok ‘spring’ was putting it mildly, in Levi’s case it was more like he exploded into a hurricane of vengeance.  He knew that about himself, he’d been dealing with it since he was a kid.  He knew others knew about it.  He knew they had sought him out specifically to get him pissed off and get a fight out of him for their entertainment.  As a result, he’d spent a great deal of his childhood getting caught up in scuffles that most of the time didn’t even have anything to do with him.  Once he realized what was happening, he did everything in his power to avoid these situations.  The easiest way obviously was to avoid people in general.  He felt that by giving in he was giving them control over him, and he didn’t like anyone having any power over him so he did everything possible to keep the upper hand.  For the most part he could just ignore whatever was irritating him because it wasn’t worth his time.  This worked well for him, so he felt no need to change.  He didn’t care what people said about him, as long as it didn’t affect the few friends he did have.  They were precious to him and he would do anything for them.  He was calm, he was collected and if he felt he was near the end of his patience, he walked away.   By the time he’d met Erwin in high school he had a reputation for being a creepy loner, a loner who would break your leg without blinking an eye if you messed with his friends._

_…_

Levi had to remind himself that he wasn’t the short wiry kid being picked on in the school playground anymore.  He was an adult and he was fully capable of behaving as such. 

However…

He was dealing with brats now, so this didn’t count.

He only had to glare at Marco to get him to yield, the anxiety evident in his face even with his helmet on.  Armin and Sasha were still trying to get used to the speed, so at this point they were more like road hazards than competitors.  Levi carefully swerved to avoid each of them.  They weren’t his target, so he let them be.  Soon, the one with the big bull’s eye on his helmet was coming into view.  Levi’s eyes narrowed. 

 

_There you are_.

 

Pressing down on the accelerator with all his might, he sped by Jean flashing him the sign of the horns when the tawny kid turned to glare.  An agitated Jean sped to keep up, catching up to Levi with a smug expression on his face.   He then quickly turned his steering wheel meaning to side swipe him, but Levi could see they were gaining on Connie rapidly who was driving slower than they were.  Jean was too busy giving Levi looks of superiority to notice.  Levi faked that he was going to ram Jean’s kart as well, and it turned into a mini game of chicken.  At the last minute, he eased off the accelerator then tapped his brakes and quickly jerked his kart the opposite away, letting Jean collide with a very shocked Connie.  The second Levi was out of their way he hit the gas again passing them both on his way to catch up with Mikasa. 

How had they gotten to this point?

 

…

 

Of course Levi wasn’t going to leave Eren alone with Jean and Marco.  Marco seemed nice enough, but Jean looked to be a trouble maker.  Levi was usually pretty good at reading people, and he could just imagine that Jean would get Eren into all kinds of mischief.  That was something Eren didn’t need any extra help with.  It wasn’t very far, so Levi relented.  Also, he was kind of curious about the go-karting, though he would never admit it.  They’d piled into Jean’s mustang and headed straight there.

Sina Racing was a huge facility.  It looked like a repurposed warehouse with cement walls, exposed beams and ducts.  When you walked in there was a snack bar on one side and a reception area on the other.  The race track was in the middle, blocked off for safety.  There was a platform along the middle where you could enjoy your snacks and watch the racers from above if you were not going to participate yourself.  Or you could also hang out while waiting for your turn.  There were screens at various points where you could follow the races more closely and others switched on to different channels in case you wanted to watch something else.

They all had to sign in and wait while the people who’d been there before them got their turn.  Levi got a call from one of his customers before his turn to sign in which he had to go outside for a moment to answer.  It wasn’t anything of major importance, they were just checking on a delivery.  He let them know he would e-mail them the tracking information as soon as he got back home and then headed back inside.  Once he was done, he grabbed a drink at the snack bar and headed upstairs to join the others.

When Levi was halfway up he was able to catch their conversation and stopped mid-step when he heard the topic.

“Guys, we should probably go easy on him since this is his first time,” he heard Eren say.  To his credit he sounded genuinely concerned.

“What, do we have to burp him too, mom?” Jean chortled.  “If the old man’s heart can’t take the action, maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to come.”

“You guys, that’s mean!” at least the freckled kid had the decency to say. 

“I don’t think he’s _that_ old,” Eren mused trying to stifle a giggle.

“Maybe he’ll change his mind before the race starts.  We shouldn’t make a big deal about it if he does,” Marco added nervously.

“Maybe he won’t have a choice,” that perpetual douche Jean snorted.

“What do you mean?” Eren had asked.

“Don’t you remember?” he heard Jean say, not even trying to muffle his merriment.  “They have a height requirement.”  More obnoxious laughter was heard from them.  “Armin and Connie _barely_ breezed by!  Can you imagine?!” 

“Jean!” Marco gasped trying to sound reproachful, but he couldn’t stop from chuckling himself.

They quickly changed the subject in an effort to calm down.  By the time they noticed Levi walking up to them with his race suit in hand all three were red in the face trying to contain their sorry selves.

 

…

 

Levi had no quarrel with Mikasa so he just sped around her and then hugged the inner wall to get the tightest turn so he could catch Eren.  He wasn’t really mad at Eren, he just wanted to win because the commitment had already been made.  He was going to wipe the floor with their sorry asses and he wasn’t going to back down now. 

 

…

 

At the beginning, Levi had to deal with a slow start.  He wasn’t used to driving since he’d never really had a need to do it working from home.  Erwin had always driven them everywhere, so there had been no real reason for him to keep a car.  He still hadn’t gotten around to getting one even now since everything he needed was within walking distance.  Even so, it wouldn’t have helped him much now, the go kart handled differently than a regular car.  He’d been nervous at the beginning, although to those around him he only seemed impatient, and he’d fallen behind since the get go.  He had to get used to maneuvering the much lighter vehicle, learn to compensate when he braked and when he turned, get used to the vehicles limits and advantages. 

It didn’t take him very long though, and once he was comfortable, he was out for blood.  He had been two full laps behind at this point.  He pushed his kart to its full potential, not really worrying about it possibly failing, not giving the possibility of recklessly crashing a second thought because by then he was confident enough in his abilities to know that wouldn’t happen.  Most likely the kart would fall apart under his abuse.  He didn’t really care, it was insured anyway.  His movements with the kart felt fluid, like they were working together in perfect unison, the metal contraption and himself were of one mind and one goal.  The tiny kart speeding at high velocity made him feel like he was flying, his muscles tense, the wind hitting his face, the rush of adrenaline was addicting.  Levi made a mental note to stay away from sports cars when he finally took that step to making a purchase.  It was obvious now he wouldn’t be able to control himself and he didn’t want to imagine all the money he would end up having to pay for his speeding violations.  He was now one lap behind, steadily gaining on them and would soon be on their tails. 

 

…

 

Finally, he had Eren in his sights and it was the last lap.  Eren was cocky since he had such a big lead and that was his mistake.  By the time he noticed Levi, they were already side by side.  Eren had looked like he was bored when he came up on him, but when he saw Levi his face lit up, his eyes glowing, his thousand watt smile blinding him.  Levi pushed the go kart to move as fast as it was mechanically able to trying his damndest to pass him.  Eren wasn’t one to back down though and matched him move for move.  They were pretty evenly matched, when Levi would pass Eren on one turn, Eren would pass him on the next.  Their cars kept banging into each other with them aggressively trying to shove the other into the wall, or into one of the other drivers.  In the end, Levi only won because Armin had gotten turned around messing up on a turn. He looked like he was going to lose bladder control when he saw Eren barreling towards him head on, but Eren managed to narrowly avoid him, having to brake hard to change his direction drastically enough, and thereby causing him to fall behind.  Thereby allowing Levi to cross the finish line unchallenged. 

Levi celebrated like the dick he was nonetheless.  He hopped out of his kart and raised his hands in triumph ignoring his wobbly legs and the dizziness that was slowly passing.

 “Wow Levi!” Marco had been the first to congratulate him.  “If I hadn’t seen you struggling at the beginning, I would say you’re a ringer!” 

“Yeah man, I think that was the best rookie debut this place has ever seen!” Connie pitched in excitedly.

“This was your first time?!” Armin exclaimed with disbelief then gaped when Levi nodded.

“I don’t know how you don’t even own a car,” Eren had thrown in, beaming proudly at him.  “You’re a natural.”

“You don’t even own a car!” Armin choked out, looking downtrodden.    

He’d won by chance, but he felt smug about it nonetheless.  The best part was that Eren didn’t call him on it.  He could have said something, but he didn’t.  He just gave him a congratulatory hug and a wide smile.

Jean also gave his congratulations, but seemed a little miffed.

“Hey,” Levi said to him evenly.  “No hard feelings, okay?”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it,” Jean muttered.

“Maybe next time we could invite your parents.  They might actually stand a chance against this old man, huh Kirchstein?” he taunted with a smirk.

Jean turned a shade of scarlet Levi was sure he wasn’t accustomed to and that gave him great satisfaction.

The rest of the group broke out into a chorus of laughter and Jean stalked off to hide his embarrassment of having been heard.

 

* * * *

 

After the races, they went to the mall to get something to eat in the food court because they couldn’t agree on what kind of food they wanted to eat.  Levi and Eren ended up at getting burritos because Levi felt it was the healthiest of the food options available.  They paid for their food and joined the others where they had pushed together enough tables in one corner to accommodate the whole group.  The group then started to talk about regular college topics.  They talked about assignments they were working on, teachers they couldn’t stand, labs that had gone terribly wrong and upcoming concerts they couldn’t wait to go to.  Levi tried to relate from when he had been in their shoes, but he still felt a little old and out of place in their company. 

Eren however, seemed to be in his element and was able to bullshit his way through any questions flung his way.  He had just moved here.  He was taking a year off from his studies.  He was majoring in Physics because he wanted to work in an observatory.  He claimed to be 21.  Levi’s mind strayed to darker territory.  He wondered how this entire group conversation would go if they knew Eren was actually a demon and that at any given moment he could renege on his promise and murder them all.  It could happen, he tried to convince himself.  Watching him interact with the other kids, he couldn’t really picture it though.  He struggled to keep it in mind, because how could he really ever be sure?  The way the others were fawning over him, they probably would just say ‘oh that’s cool, want to catch a movie later?’ It was kind of strange that Eren was just there hanging out like a normal brat when he was from the other side.  Didn’t they usually have evil intentions?  He wasn’t an expert, hell, he hadn’t even believed there _were_ such things a couple of days ago.  It seemed to him that whatever they were like it wasn’t like this brunette sitting beside him laughing his head off as the others spoke of their daily horrors and antics.  At some point he would have to sit down and talk to him about it.  That is, if Eren _ever_ had down time. 

Soon enough, it was getting dark so they bade farewell to their new friends with promises of meeting up again.  Eren decided he wanted some coffee for the walk home.  It was a little chilly so Levi agreed to it.  They ordered their coffee at the stand inside the mall from a girl named Krista.  She was petite, had huge blue eyes, blonde hair and was cute as a bug.  He’d never been handed change by a sweeter person he decided.

Levi was scrolling through his phone, e-mailing back his customer requests when their names were called signaling their drinks were ready.

Right when he glanced up, ready to put his phone away, Eren touched his arm and said “I’ll get them,” with a warm smile on his face.  Levi nodded and went back to tapping out the reply he was currently working on.  Petra had asked him to meet up for lunch tomorrow.  Levi agreed because he needed to ask her about Hanji.  He hadn’t had the chance to plan anything since Eren had insisted on socializing instead.

It felt like a weight was lifting off his shoulders once his inbox was nearly empty of unread messages.  Levi smiled, with work out of the way he could dedicate his evening to relaxing at home in front of his TV.  He put his phone back into his pocket and looked around.  Now that he wasn’t distracted, he came to the realization that Eren hadn’t come back with their drinks yet.  He looked towards where they were being handed out by the barista and saw that Eren was still there seemingly arguing. 

_Oh great_ , he thought and headed directly over to hopefully diffuse the situation.

“No, that is _not_ what he ordered.  Can you please just make it over?” Eren was saying, visibly making an effort not to be loud or rude, forced smile plastered on his face.

“There is nothing wrong with the drink, _sir_.  It is exactly what he ordered and if we make it again, it will be exactly the same,” the barista countered, voice full of contempt.  “Again.” 

The barista was a tall athletic girl, brown hair pulled back against the nape of her neck.  Her face was full of freckles like Marco’s.

Eren sighed heavily, but kept a calm façade.  “I know for a _fact_ ,” he let the word linger.  “That the drink is not made correctly.  Please… kindly… can you just re-make it?”

Levi moved up alongside Eren giving him a questioning look.  “What’s wrong?” Levi asked.

Eren ran his hand through his hair before turning to him and blurting, ” _Ymir_ seems to think I don’t know the difference between half and half and soy milk.  Which I do,” he added turning back to her and giving her a pointed look. “By the way.”   

Ymir’s eyebrow shot up high into her forehead, her facial features twitched with restrained anger.  She took a deep breath before turning to Levi, who she must have assumed would be the easier of the two to deal with. 

“I explained to your _friend_ ,” she said with exasperation.  “We are out of soy milk.  I apologized and offered to give him the drink for free.  But he insists on having it redone for no reason.”

Levi was about to accept the drink to end this silly argument when Eren bumped him to the side and continued to argue.

“That would be perfectly fine, if it were a fact,” he sneered.  “But I know you do actually have soy milk.  I saw it in your refrigerator.”

Ymir leaned over the counter, narrowing her eyes.  “That’s quite an accusation considering the refrigerator is pointing towards us inside the stand and there’s no way you could possibly know what’s in it.”

“Eren, it’s fine-“ Levi tried to cut in, but they weren’t even paying attention to him.

“I think you understand clearly that I know what I’m talking about,” he paused as if restraining himself.  “Levi asked for soy milk and you have it.  So I want it,” he demanded leaning in.  The two were almost touching foreheads, Levi felt his blood pressure spike.

“Hey!” he grabbed Eren’s arm pulling him to face him.  “Can we stop?  I don’t need to have the soy, Eren.  I enjoy the taste of it, yes, but half and half is fine, too.  It’s fine!”

Eren frowned considering Levi’s words.  Ymir shot Eren a victorious stare.  He thought it would be over and they could finally leave, so he reached over to grab the drink again.  Eren cut him off once more making Levi scream internally. 

“At this point, it’s the principal,” he gazed at Ymir with an air of superiority and pushed Levi’s drink back towards her.  “If Krista actually needed that milk, if she were say... lactose intolerant, that would be one thing.  But she’s not.”

Ymir’s face scrunched up in anger.

“I don’t see why a customer has to settle for less than what he ordered in good faith, just so you can score brownie points with your girlfriend,” Levi was floored by Eren’s audacity.  “Maybe a manager can help me better understand, hmm?”

Ymir’s expression went from annoyance to full on fury in no time at all. 

Levi decided that was their signal to leave.  He seriously did not care about the milk, and he hated getting into confrontations more than anything.  This situation was particularly loathsome to him because he would come off as an asshole customer.  He grabbed Eren by the arm and dragged him along as he stalked away from the food court.

 

“Levi!” Eren protested, but he was ignored.

Once they were out of the food area, Levi turned to face him and started venting his annoyance.

“What was that about?  Who cares about stupid soy milk, Eren?!”

Eren seemed confused at this outburst.  “It’s what you ordered.”

Levi glared at him while he took some deep breaths to calm himself.

“Eren,” he rubbed his throbbing temples.   “It would be nice to have it because I do enjoy the flavor, but I hate scenes like this!  Why would you go through so much effort to argue a point like that?  Shitty brat!  Is it really that important for you to get your way?  It’s not a big deal, just let it go!”

Levi smacked Eren upside the head, which only caused Eren to giggle because he thought watching Levi stretch to be able to reach him was cute.

“Levi, if you like your coffee with soy milk and it’s available why are you willing to let it go?”

Levi frowned.  Wasn’t he listening?

“I told you, it’s because I don’t want the hassle.”

Eren stared at him, considering his answer.

“You just let it go so easily, like you don’t deserve it” Eren seemed to be lost in thought now rather than talking to him.  “I don’t get it.  It seems like such an insignificant amount of happiness that the soy milk would bring you, but sometimes a little bit is all you get in the whole day.”  Levi could only stare at Eren, mouth open, harsh words failing him for once.   It was such a simple thing, but it managed to touch him.  He struggled to compose himself.  “Don’t worry, we can stop somewhere else on the way home and we _will_ get your coffee the way you like it,” Eren declared cheerily with a big goofy smile. 

“Fine,” Levi answered looking everywhere but at Eren.  He hoped fervently his face wasn’t betraying him right now.

“But first,” Eren bit his lip.  “I have to use the restroom real quick.  All that water, you know.  Will you wait for me here?”

“Fine.  Just make sure to wash your hands thoroughly.  Filthy brat.”

…

Again!  Eren was taking his sweet time, again.  Levi cursed under his breath.

If he was back arguing with that barista, god help him…!  Levi fumed silently, leaning against the wall of the mall’s beauty supply store. 

Just as he pushed off to go check on him, Eren casually came around the corner.  Levi relaxed asking when he was close enough.  “Ready now?”

“Yep!” Eren answered cheerfully.

They were almost to the elevator, when suddenly there was a loud explosion coming from the general direction of the food court.  Levi’s eyes widened with shock.  He immediately shot a look at Eren.  The jerk was hugging his belly with one hand, the other covering his mouth trying to stifle laughter.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!” he didn’t even try to keep his voice down.

Eren was giving him his most innocent look, when they heard someone yell “HEY!”

Ymir was running towards them and she looked seriously pissed off.  “I know it was you shithead!” she screamed at Eren.

“What the fu-“

Levi didn’t even have time to finish his expletive before Eren grabbed him by his shirt collar yelling “Come on!”

They got on the escalator and walked down, quick as they could even though it was in motion.  Once they reached the bottom, Eren grabbed Levi’s arm and took off running dragging him along.  Ymir didn’t give up so easily.  She was right behind them yelling obscenities the whole time. 

“You think I don’t know what you are, you’re fucking wrong jackass!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“You _should_ know, you‘re old enough to have seen my parent’s born into the world, witch!” Eren yelled back laughing maniacally.

They zig zagged through the crowd, bumping into people here and there.  Sometimes the people they collided against would lose balance and stumble, losing the contents they’d been holding, causing even more accidents.  They cut across some stores, making weird turns which made no sense.  This seemed to be enough to throw Ymir off, and soon she was nowhere to be seen.  Finally when they got outside, they stopped to catch their breath.

 

“What on god’s green earth did you do to her Eren?” Levi screamed.  His sides were aching horribly.

“I made their espresso machine explode.”

“What?!"

Eren laughed breathlessly.

"How even…?”  Levi was flabbergasted.

“It was easy!  With all the pressure, you just need to sabotage one key part and-“

Levi held his hands up in front of himself, signaling Eren to stop.

“Why the fuck would you do that?!”  Levi struggled to speak between gasps.

Eren shrugged.  “No one got hurt!  It sounded much worse than it actually was.  Plus, now she can’t have her soy coffee either!” Eren barked smiling widely with an evil glint in his eyes.

Levi thought over the whole situation as he panted heavily trying to calm his burning lungs. 

In the end, all he could do was laugh.

“You’re unbelievable,” he said finally. 

 

Eren near blinded him with the smile he directed back at him.

 


	7. Keep your enemies close.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren conclude their day of adventure, then Levi has a lunch date with Petra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nervous laughter...

* * *

 

_In what seemed like a past life now, Erwin had been the only one to know about Levis’s anger issues, his dark past, his antisocial ways and still stick around.  He’d accepted his nature, didn’t try to change him, didn’t try to talk about it, and more importantly didn’t try to bring him out of his shell.  God he hated that term and wished every counselor who ever mentioned it to him would choke on their own tongue.  For the first time someone felt he was worth getting to know and that made Levi feel like he was worth something.  Erwin was smart, he was popular and he was handsome.  He was the personification of “most likely to succeed.”  He had the skills and the determination to do anything he wanted and get anything he wanted; or anyone for that matter.  Everyone wanted to be Erwin’s friend._

_Of course the fact that he wanted to be with Levi made him feel special.  That was normal right?   The rest of the school seemed to develop amnesia as to who Levi had been in the past once he was with Erwin.  Out of nowhere suddenly he had “friends” that normally wouldn’t even so much as spit in his direction.  Levi felt nothing but contempt for them.  Why should he give any of them the time of day?  If they hadn’t needed him before they certainly could do without him then, he only cared about Erwin.  Acceptance is a strong motivator, and Levi wasn’t used to having it.  So he held onto it for as long as he could.  Looking back now he realized that he made himself blind to so many things that bothered him for the sake of keeping the status quo and he’d willingly overlooked flaws in Erwin so he could hold onto that sense of security._

_Now Levi didn’t understand what Erwin had ever seen in him if he was being honest.  They were complete opposites. They may have had things in common back then, and the attraction had been mutual, that wasn’t the problem. They’d grown apart, they’d gone their separate ways mentally long ago, they were only together superficially in appearances anymore. If things didn’t go well, Levi blamed himself.  Of course it was his fault, Erwin was blindingly perfect.  He’d spent the majority of their time together trying to figure out how to make Erwin happy, to deserve him.  Sometimes he succeeded, a lot of the times he didn’t.  He spent a lot of time wallowing in self hatred for not being good enough.  He slowly came to resent Erwin for making him feel that way about himself.  In time that turned into indifference, then defeat.  He was never going to be good enough, so why try?  He blamed Erwin for that, and felt guilty at the same time for doing so._

_It was a loop he didn’t know how to escape.  Maybe he should be happy Erwin had ended things, because he’d unknowingly shown him a mercy.  He didn’t honestly know.  He was still confused about a lot of things._

_Well, at least that was behind him now._

 

…

 

Eren had insisted they stop at the nearest coffee shop by the mall to get their hot drinks before hopping on the next bus home.  The bus was almost full with office workers trying to get home after working their nine to five jobs.  Their faces looked as worn down as they felt inside from the hum drum of the routine that was their life.  The only seats open were at the front of the bus near the driver.  The boys spent a good deal of the ride home trying desperately to tune out the incessant chatter of some blue hair talking the driver’s ear off.  She was going on and on about how chilly the weather was for this time of year and how it never used to be so.  It was surely a sign of the end times.  She regaled him with various other signs she'd witnessed recently and asked him for his opinion, but didn’t really ever give him the chance to answer.  The driver just hummed in agreement every now and again making Levi wonder if he was actually listening at all.  His guess would be no.  It was going to take some time for them to get home since the bus had to drop off travelers at all the requested stops.  

Levi decided now was as good a time as any to let Eren know about his lunch plans.  Plus if he had to listen to that old biddy any more than was necessary, he was going to end up strangling someone.  Most likely her.

“Hey Eren,” he said casually.  “I’m going to have lunch with a friend tomorrow, so you will need to entertain yourself while I’m gone.  I expect you will behave?”

Eren had watched him with large innocent eyes while he’d spoken.  Now they narrowed in accusation.  “What, don’t you trust me?”

“Excuse you?” Levi retorted with an incredulous glare.  “Are you not the same imbecile who blew up a fucking espresso machine _just_ to spite a certain cranky witch that rubbed you the wrong way?”

Eren burst out laughing.  “I _am_ that imbecile, sir!”

“Thought so.”

“Levi!  Why do you have to be such a jerk about it?  I did it for you.”

“I’m kind of thinking that’s not the case.”

“Are you implying my intentions were less than honorable?” his jaw dropped in mock outrage.  Levi gave an unapologetic nod.  “How dare you!” Eren removed his glove and pretended to slap Levi with it.  “I challenge you to a duel, sir!  For my honor, of course.”

Levi in turn pretended to think it over, “Eh.  I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.  I don’t want to spill my _delicious_ soy coffee.”

“Touché,” Eren bumped his cup of hot chocolate with Levi’s cup of espresso.  “I was kind of hoping you would join me, though.  The guys wanted to hang out again, remember?”

Levi furrowed his brows in thought.  Did he remember?  No, he didn’t.  That must have been the part of the conversation where Levi had tuned out.  Oh well, his plans with Petra were made afterwards, so it couldn’t be helped.

“She asked after that, so I didn’t know at the time,” he frowned and hit Eren on the shoulder when he mouthed the word ‘she’ with exaggerated distaste.  “Stop that!”  Eren giggled obnoxiously.  “Anyway, I need to talk to her because she might be able to give me information about Hanji.”

Eren froze at the mention of Hanji’s name.

“Ah, shit!” he smacked himself on the forehead.  “I totally forgot about that!”

Levi glared at him.

“How, Eren?” he said with disbelief.  “How could you forget about that?  I thought Hanji was your friend, too?”

Eren’s gaze fell to his feet.  “I dunno.  I guess I was just excited to be able to stay here for a while.  I mean, I met new friends and then I got to spend the whole day with _you_.”  He met Levi’s eyes and smiled warmly.  “I’ve never had so much fun before…”

He frowned upon noticing Levi’s unchanged disapproving demeanor.

“I’m a terrible person,” he muttered with chagrin. 

Levi sighed.

_No, you’re a demon.  I guess you can’t be expected to feel the same way about things like I do._

“It’s ok,” Levi ruffled his hair.  Eren seemed confused about the action and touched his own head mimicking the gesture with a puzzled look.  “I’ll figure it out.”

“But I want to help too, Levi!” Eren declared earnestly.

Levi considered his words for a moment just to make him stew before answering.

“If that’s so, then don’t worry.  I’ll find a way for you to help.  Ok?”

Eren smiled softly and nodded.

 

…

 

“What are you going to do with that?” Levi asked trying to keep the threat out of his voice.

“Oh, you mean your _heavy cream_?” Eren purred suggestively waggling his eyebrows.  Levi only glared at him.  “Fine,” he gave a defeated sigh and turned his attention back to the refrigerator looking for cheese.  “I need it for the sauce.”

Levi mulled it over for a minute then said simply, “Ok.”

Eren chuckled.  “You know there are _other_ drinks.  You don’t have to have white Russians all the time.”

“Tch.  It’s fine if it’s going to be used for something suitable like dinner,” Levi answered, then reached around him grabbing a soda.  “I have to admit, it’s kind of weird to me that you know how to cook.”  He grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and went straight for the rum.

“Well, Mr. Twelve Steps,” Eren said glancing at the booze.    “We don’t exactly have a fucking McDonald’s on every corner on the other side.”

“Pfft!  Cry me a river,” Levi scoffed.  “I figured you could just poof your food up, like this,” Levi snapped his fingers then made a circling motion over the vegetables Eren was caramelizing as if that were the result.  “McDonald’s, by the way?  That food will kill you.  You guys can have it.”

“Ass!  Certain things just aren’t possible there, so we have to do without, all right?”

“Really?  Like what?”

Eren rolled his eyes.  “Like fast food, _obviously_!  Then there’s coffee, jobs- but who gives a fuck about _those_ really?… music, television or the internet-”

Levi gasped loudly!  “Holy fuck!” he exclaimed, clutching his chest.  “How do you live?!”

“Terribly, actually,” Eren answered thoughtfully.  “But most don’t care.  They’re not interested in things like that.”

“Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t exactly be high on your list of priorities when your number one goal in life is butchering humans.”

Eren visibly lost his composure, nearly dropping the dry pasta he was snapping in half to fit in the pan of boiling water.  He turned to look at Levi eyes wide with worry, distress clear in his countenance.

Feeling uncomfortable about the situation, Levi placed a hand on Eren’s shoulder.  “Sorry,” he muttered.  “Guess that was in poor taste.”

Eren searched Levi’s face as if an answer could be found there to some question that had been silently asked.  Levi had no clue what that might be and he was sure his expression showed it, because Eren then shrugged and said, “Don’t worry about it.  It’s not like you would know anything about the other side other than urban legends and science fiction, right?”

Levi shrugged in affirmation.

To his relief Eren’s mood visibly lightened and he went back to preparing the pasta as if nothing had happened.  “Everyone cooks their own meals on the other side.  The only tricky part is not getting your dinner mixed up with your potions.”

“What?”

“Well,” Eren turned to face him, hand on hip, his eyes going skyward lost in thought.  “You have to make sure to have an obvious distinction between your cooking items and your potion tools, because let’s face it, they’re the fucking same thing.  And you’re so used to the task- making dinner, making a love potion; tomayto tomahto; it’s like exactly the same-  Oh!  Making a love potion for some horrible ass loser who shouldn’t be procreating in the first place, by the way.  That’s called natural selection, buddy!  Right?  It’s there for a fucking reason, moron!  Anyway, you’re so used to it, it becomes mechanical…” 

Eren paused and pointed his wooden spoon at Levi looking as if he’d just had an epiphany.  

“Like driving!” 

Levi was almost sorry he’d asked at this point, but Eren continued. 

“Like when you’re just so used to driving a certain route that you do it without thinking, you know.  _Next_ thing you know, you wake up out of a daze like some old timer.  You were freaking day dreaming for god knows how long.  Fuck only knows what you were thinking about, ‘cause of course by the time you realize what’s happening, you forget.  And then you suddenly realize you don’t know where the fuck you are!  You didn’t _want_ to be there, it just happened.  Right?  Mechanical.”  He nodded at Levi, but Levi just scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.  “Oh!  So the point is, you have to have those two things clearly separated, otherwise you might end up casting a spell on yourself by mistake and that’s- Wow!  Yeah… nobody wants that.”  He picked up some noodles with his spoon and grabbed one real quick to test for tenderness.

Levi could only stare at Eren for the duration of his little…  What the fuck was that even?  A rant?  Irrelevant tangent?  Kind of a mixture of both?  More like the ramblings of an insane person, he decided.  He’d been able to follow the explanation without a problem.  His brain was just having a hard time coping with the knowledge he’d gained about the boy in front of him.

In the end he decided to just go with it. 

“Yeah, I know right?” he nodded in agreement.  Eren turned back to him to give him a relieved smile.   “I’m going to set the table, ok?”

“Oh, thanks!” Eren answered cheerily.

Levi rolled his eyes as he passed Eren, mouthing the word ‘wow!’  He was going to need something way stronger than a rum and coke to keep up with this brat.

 

…

 

The pasta Eren cooked them up for dinner was delicious and Levi made sure to let him know just how much because he still felt guilty about hurting his feelings.  What had his life become that he was worried about something like this?  Maybe it was the fear of possibly facing Eren’s wrath?  Yeah, right!  The more he got to know him, the less he thought of him as anything other than plain human.  The brat was growing on him and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.  It had only been a couple of days too!  To Levi, it felt like a lot longer for some reason.

….

The next morning Levi almost fell out of bed to the tune of Gold Digger blaring obnoxiously loud in his ear.  He slammed the snooze button on his alarm, but that did nothing.  Confused and getting agitated he sat up, grabbed the offending source of the ruckus off the nightstand and swiped the screen to shut it the hell up.  The phone almost went flying into the wall, but was saved at the last minute when he realized it was his own.  He took a moment to look around while he waited for the last blurriness of sleep to pass.  There were so many things wrong here; he didn’t know what to be pissed off about first.  Why was he in his own bed again?  He’d gone to sleep on the couch, he clearly remembered.  Why was it already light outside?  He’d set his alarm for seven am.  And to top it off, he didn’t even _have_ Gold freaking Digger in his music library so how was it suddenly his alarm?! 

Fucking Eren!

Levi quickly showered and had a cup of coffee before going through his e-mail and getting all his morning work out of the way in order to make it to lunch with Petra.  He had a nagging suspicion a certain temperamental demon had tried to sabotage his morning, thereby preventing him from being able to make the lunch.  He couldn’t see why it would bother him so much.  He was out with friends himself wasn’t he?  Stupid brat!

Levi ran out the door at a quarter to eleven.  He may be a little late, but Petra owed him in that department.  Luckily the bus was still at the stop helping a passenger in a wheelchair, so Levi managed to make it in time after all.

…

_Petra was his oldest friend.  They’d grown up together since Kindergarten and even after they’d gone to separate universities after high school they’d never lost touch.  They were both only children of parents who’d neglected them in very different ways.  Petra’s parents had severely high expectations of her.  They were arrogant and distant, leaving her in the care of others.  If she didn’t have an achievement to talk to them about, they didn’t want to hear from her at all.  She spent her childhood trying to please them and failing.  Levi’s parents were quite the opposite.  They were cold and abusive, never giving him a moment’s peace.  They blamed him as the reason their life had turned into such disappointment and made it a point to never let him forget it.   After their car accident when he was in middle school Levi’s life was turned upside down.  He went to live with his grandfather who no one seemed to realize was bipolar.  Levi had a hell of a time dealing with his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde mood swings until he could finally move out when he went away to school.  Petra was the only one he would turn to for comfort in those days and vice versa.  She was the only constant in his life.  She was also the only positive influence that kept him out of serious trouble.  Later, even though others were added to their circle of friends, he was loyal to her the most.  In Levi’s heart she was and would ever be his only real family._

…

Levi pushed through the double doors of Nick’s Diner and spotted Petra immediately at their regular booth by the window in the right corner of the restaurant.  He smiled and waved when her large honey eyes met his.  Damn, she’d still beaten him here!  He slid into the seat opposite her, silently cursing because she’d gotten the good seat.  Yes, he enjoyed people watching as much as the next guy, but he did not like having the blinding hot sun beating down on his sensitive eyes, magnified times a billion by the glass windows to boot.

“Levi,” she gloated.  “I can’t believe you’re not here super early just to spite me!  I guess there’s a first time for everything…”

“My alarm broke,” he said simply, shrugging for emphasis. 

Their waitress chose that time to come by and get their orders.  Petra ordered a chicken salad.  Levi didn’t get a chance to have breakfast thanks to a certain someone whom he didn’t care to mention at the moment.  He ordered a late breakfast of steak and eggs with a side of fruit, making Petra’s eyes go wide. 

“Wow, someone sure has an appetite!  I wonder why?” she asked.

Levi eyed her suspiciously.  “I didn’t have time for breakfast.  I told you my alarm broke.”

“Oh yeah,” she laughed nervously.

Levi tried to let it go until she told him, but in the back of his mind he was already on edge.  Petra was hiding something. 

Petra told Levi the latest about her boyfriend Auruo and how she’d finally given him an ultimatum that she wanted a commitment or she was walking.  They’d been together for almost three years, so Levi agreed that she’d given him more than enough time to shit or get off the pot as they say.  Their food arrived and Levi almost fainted when the smell of meat wafted into his nostrils.  He pounced on it like a wild animal making Petra tsk at his manners.  He just smiled at her with his mouth full of food to her disgust.  Petra picked at her salad, which was hardly a meal in itself.  She was clearly nervous, he thought.  But why?

“What’s wrong?” he asked in between bites. 

She almost jumped in her seat. “What?”

“Is everything all right?” he continued.  “You seem nervous.”

She looked around seeming to mull it over before taking a deep breath.

“Well,” she fidgeted in her seat.  Levi didn’t like where this was headed.  Her fidgeting was never a good sign.  He didn’t fail to notice she had a death grip on her napkin either.  “I guess there’s no easy way to say this…”

They both jumped when she was suddenly interrupted by Levi’s phone blasting out what sounded like death metal.  He’d forgotten to turn down the volume from this morning, and did so now quickly.  Other patrons were turning to glare.  He ignored them and checked to see who was calling him.  It turned out not to be a call at all, but a text from Eren to Levi’s shock.

 

**Eren** :   Levi!  The guys got me a phone yesterday.   Aren’t they the best?  

 

Levi rolled his eyes.  The shitty brat had a cell phone now.  He’d somehow unlocked Levi’s phone that morning, changed his alarm settings, changed all his music around and entered himself as a contact.  There was even a picture of Eren sticking out his tongue added as his contact photo.  Great!

 

**Eren** :  Now we can talk even when you’re not here!

**Eren** :  Wait, I guess that’s not really ‘talking’… or is it?  Is it?!

 

Levi sighed heavily. 

_Oh my fucking god Eren?!  Why, dear lord, why…_

 

**Levi** :  That was very nice of them, but we can talk later.  Ok, shitty brat?

“Who’s that?” Petra asked frowning.

“What, are you the only one who can text me now?” Levi hadn’t meant to snap at her, but she’d been acting weird since he’d arrived and now she was losing her shit because he was getting texts from someone that wasn’t her?  She frowned and went back to eating her salad.  If you can call pushing her lettuce around on her plate eating.

**Eren** :  You’re so mean Levi!  But ok.  The guys and I are going for a picnic in the park anyway.

**Eren** :   Bye!

**Levi** :  Ok, have fun. 

He put his phone on silence and looked expectantly at Petra, signaling she had his full attention again.

She squirmed in her seat, but couldn’t seem to bring herself to spit it out.

“Well?” he asked, losing patience.

Again, she took a deep breath and this time just blurted out.

“Levi, Erwin wants to talk to you, ok?”

Levi gave her one of his iciest stares while struggling to contain the anger that was threatening to overcome him.

“Well, too bad,” he replied simply.  “I think he’s said everything I need to hear from him.  _Ever_.”

It was his turn to push his food around on his plate now.  Any appetite he’d had before would not be making a comeback from the shit fest Petra was threatening to rain upon them.

She seemed to carefully think over what she was going to say before slowly continuing.  “Look, Levi.  I know you have every reason not to want to talk to him.  I understand completely.  But I’ve heard him out and I think you should too.”  She gazed at him with those large glassy eyes of hers that he’d always thought he’d been able to read perfectly.  Now he wasn’t so sure.  She seemed a little bit afraid, but mostly determined.  “If nothing else, at least for closure.  Please?”

Levi couldn’t breathe.  How dare she?

“Levi?”

“No, Petra!  The answer is no, ok?”  He forced out as quietly as he could though he was seething.

Petra looked stricken, but Levi was finding it hard to feel sorry for his actions when she was the one who was backing him into a corner.

Suddenly her gaze lifted and shifted to somewhere right behind him.  By reflex, Levi turned to follow her line of vision and came face to face with a frowning Erwin. 

His piercing sky blue gaze locked with his own stormy gray glare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, what am I doing???


	8. Friends for the win.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Erwin have words. Eren finds out payback is a bitch.

* * *

 

“Levi.”

If it was possible for all of Levi’s body hair to stand on end from the rage he felt having to hear Erwin’s voice again, his was doing that just now and it felt fucking creepy.  He couldn’t think straight, his mind was cluttered with a combination of dark impulses and loathing.  He knew eventually these feelings would fade and he might be able to look at him as just another person, but it was too soon and goddamnit Petra should know this!   Erwin was glaring back with as much animosity and maybe some extra reflected right back at him.  Whatever eyebrows wanted to talk to him about was clearly not going to be pleasant.  Why the fuck was he here then?

“Erwin,” Levi said coldly, doing his damndest to keep any other emotion out of his voice.  He averted his eyes, looking at nothing in particular, just not Erwin.  He didn’t want the oversized blond to know he could still shake him up.  

“We need to talk,” Erwin continued. 

“I don’t think we do,” Levi retorted, challenge in his tone.

Petra, who’d been staring at her hands this whole time, decided her time to escape was now. 

“I’m going to go sit at the bar,” she got up awkwardly and scooted past Erwin as fast as her chicken shit ass would allow her.  “Give you guys some privacy.”  The last part was almost whispered.  She didn’t even glance once at Levi to see if he was okay with her abandonment.  _So this is what a knife in your back feels like_.  He made a mental note to have a long chat with his dear ‘friend’ later.

Levi watched Erwin slide in to take Petra’s place.   _At least he blocked the glare of the sun_ , he thought with bitter irony.

Erwin had always made him feel small.  Not only physically, he towered over Levi in height, but also with his sheer force of presence.  He was clearly an alpha personality and liked to throw his weight around to get what he wanted.  Not in an underhanded way like a criminal, more like a politician…  Well, ok, still a criminal, but a white collar one that can afford to get sent to country clubs instead of real jails.  Levi just sat there glaring while the blonde seemed to be silently appraising him. 

He pushed his plate away making as much noise as possible as it scraped against the table so Erwin would get the hint that he was not here for his pleasure and he should maybe get on with it.  To Levi’s great annoyance, Erwin didn’t even seem to notice and still said nothing.  He tried to control his urge to fight and flee because he knew that is exactly what Erwin would be expecting.  Speaking of fight, he noted with some satisfaction that Erwin’s jaw was still healing from the other night.  Bruises that had maybe once been black and blue were now slightly purplish with splatters of yellow.  The silence was overbearing, his nerves couldn’t take much more so he blurted out the first thing that came into mind.

“If you’re here for an apology you’re wasting your time.”

“Hmm?” Erwin hummed in confusion.

Levi pointed at the corresponding location of Erwin’s bruise on his own jaw as an answer.

Understanding flashed across Erwin’s face, his features softened slightly.  “Oh.  No, that’s not why I’m here.  I know better than to expect that from you,” he gave a small laugh.  Levi wasn’t sure if this was meant as an insult or not, but the confusion was cleared up when Erwin added, “I kind of deserved it anyway.”

“Kind of,” Levi muttered silently, then frowned when he noticed Erwin had heard him and smiled.  “So…?”

“Levi,” he started again, and sighed to seemingly order his thoughts.  “I know at this point it will mean less than nothing to you, but I just wanted to apologize.”

Levi rolled his eyes.  What, Erwin couldn’t handle life if someone didn’t like him?  God he was such a people pleaser.  He had royally fucked up and he thought he could apologize and make Levi his friend somehow? 

“For what, specifically?” Levi asked with a sour expression on his face. 

Erwin rested his chin on his hand looking like he was lost in thought.  “For going behind your back.  You were right, of course.  I should have ended things properly with you first.”

Whoop dee freaking doo!  He realized he messed up and was sorry.  Levi waited for him to elaborate and maybe actually have a point.  When he didn’t continue, Levi lost what little patience he had left.  He sat up abruptly and fished out cash to leave for his and Petra’s food.  Erwin watched him with interest, but said nothing. 

“Well,” he said as nonchalant as he could muster.  “You sure got _that_ off your chest.  I have to go now.”

Levi was turning to leave when Erwin suddenly caught his arm.  “Levi, wait.”

Levi turned back to him, eyes blazing with anger because he felt Erwin was just going to keep wasting his time feeding him bullshit for god knows what reasons.  He had nothing to gain, there was no way things would be ok between them.  Erwin stood up and looked him straight in the eyes with determination.  Levi crossed his arms with a huff to show him he’d better blurt out whatever was on his mind quick.  He had no intention of suffering his presence any longer than needed.

At that same time he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

“Levi, it was never my intention to end our relationship.”

Ok, those words didn’t make sense.  “What?”

Erwin sighed heavily before continuing.  “I wanted to make you jealous.  I wanted to get a reaction out of you.  _Any_ reaction, really,” he chuckled darkly.  “It backfired, obviously, and I acted out of anger.”

Levi’s phone buzzed again.

His head was spinning.  What was Erwin saying?  He hadn’t wanted to break up with him?  Then why was he with Mike now?

“You said you were in love with him.”

 “I was fucking pissed off Levi!” he bit out, trying not to yell.  “I left hints that I might be cheating on you and I know you found them, but you acted like nothing was wrong.  You found out I did in fact cheat on you and you wanted to sweep it under the rug.  I told you I loved another man and you left!”

“Of course I did!” Levi said defensively.  “What the fuck would I want to hang around for?”

Erwin let go of his arm then and sat back down looking defeated.

“That’s just it though.  You didn’t even _try_ to fight for us, you just let it go!  I’ve realized for a while now… that you never really invested yourself emotionally in our relationship.  You were always so detached, aloof.  At first I didn’t care, I figured that’s just how you were and that your feelings would show in time.  I’ve been patient for years now, Levi.  Years!  But that never happened!”

Levi couldn’t believe his ears. _He’d_ been patient? 

“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Levi spat out.   “You knew how I was and I thought you accepted that!  That wasn’t me trying to be cool or cute, that’s how I _always_ was Erwin.  I still am!”

Levi’s phone was buzzing almost non-stop now.

“Levi… other couples hold hands when they walk together.  They snuggle, they lean into each other, they share inside jokes, they share knowing looks.   Hell, I don’t know- all kinds of stupid little things like that!  _We_ never did.  I tried, but you pushed me away.  You never let me in.  Not that way.”

“Are you kidding me right now?  You think I didn’t notice that you were never happy with me?  You kept expecting something from me, but fuck if I could ever figure out what it was Erwin!  I tried everything to make you happy, but you just never were!  Nothing was ever good enough!  And to top it off you never even showed interest in _my_ happiness.  You were disappointed all the freaking time and that’s all that ever seemed to matter.  You weren’t happy, and everything else didn’t matter!  My feelings didn’t matter. _I_ didn’t matter!”

“Guys, is everything all right over here?” their waitress interrupted nervously.  She finally got the courage to approach them apparently.  “Other customers are… concerned.”

Levi knew she meant they were complaining.  

“We’re fine.  Sorry about that,” Erwin answered sheepishly for them both.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable, and thankful for the interruption, Levi slid his phone out of his pocket to see who was blowing it up.  His eyes went wide in shock to see he had various missed calls and a couple of missed texts from Eren.  He also had a couple of missed calls from Marco; the most recent ones actually.  His mind immediately filled with scenarios of mayhem and possible bodily harm that Eren may or may not be causing.

Shit!  What was going on with that brat?!

Also, why did he somehow have Marco’s contact information in his phone?  Damnit Eren!

The waitress smiled and went back to making her rounds with the other customers.  Erwin motioned for Levi to sit down.

Levi almost complied when his phone suddenly buzzed again.  Concern took precedence over the current situation.  He answered it without even checking to see who it was. 

Erwin shot him an angry glare, which Levi ignored.

“Eren?  What’s wrong?” he turned and headed towards the hostess area for privacy.

“Levi?” it was that freckled kid.  He sounded worried.

“Marco, did something happen to Eren?”

“Yes- but don’t worry, he’ll be fine!” he could hear the others in the background but couldn’t make out what they were saying.  “He wants to talk to you- he’s been trying to call you...” Marco was trying to keep the accusation out of his voice, but Levi heard it loud and clear.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.  I had my phone silenced and just now saw the calls.”

“Ok.  Here, let me pass him the phone.”

Levi waited for Eren to come on the line.  Erwin was visibly upset about their conversation being disrupted, but Levi didn’t care at the moment.  He could wait and deal with it.  He needed to make sure Eren was ok of first.

“Levi?” Eren’s voice sounded small and scared.

“Eren, what’s wrong?”

“Levi!  I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer!” he sounded like he wanted to cry.

“I’m sorry, ok?  I didn’t realize something was wrong.  What’s happening?”

“Levi,” he lowered his voice to a whisper now.  It sounded like he was trying to muffle the phone so the others couldn’t hear.  “I think the guys poisoned me!  I’m scared...  I think I’m going to _die_!”

“What?!”  How did that even make sense!  It should be the others in trouble when it came to this brat, not the other way around.  “Eren, that doesn’t make sense.  Why would you think something like that?”

“ _Because_ Levi!” he was still trying to whisper but getting excitable.  “After the picnic, I started to feel funny.  I don’t even know if ‘funny’ is the right word, you know?  Maybe I feel off.  Like, the poison is slowly making my body shut down, and what I’m seeing…or feeling…seeing?  I don’t know.  I don’t think it’s real.  It’s like my body is dying and my brain _knows,_ so it’s panicking-  My brain knows I’m dying, so it’s shutting my body down.  So everything is… out of wack!  Everything is all…it’s all broken, I think.  Things look funny except it makes _sense_ somehow. ..  I don’t even know how to describe it!”

“What are you talking about, Eren?  That doesn’t even make any sense-“

“Exactly!  Exactly...”

“Eren!”  Levi’s patience was already worn thin from his argument with Erwin.  He didn’t know how much more nonsense he could handle.  “I don’t understand anything you’re trying to-“

“Huh?  Levi, you have to come get me!  I think the guys poisoned me.  Why does everyone sound like a fun house?  They sound so far away.  But not you.  Levi, you sound so close, like you’re right here next to me!  Why do you sound so close Levi?  Are you here?  But I- I don’t- I don’t see you.  Are you here?”

“Eren, I don’t even know where you are, there’s no way I could be-”

“Levi, I think the poison’s starting to kick in worse!  I can see every molecule around me, even the air!  Fuck!  Have they been there the whole time?  How come I hadn’t seen them there before?  God, I can’t breathe!  It’s too complicated, how did I do it before?  How… Do- Do I even need to breathe, Levi?  Maybe I don’t.  I don’t remember!  Do you know, Levi?  Do you know?”

Levi thought he heard snickering and stifled laughter in the background.

“Eren, why are the guys laughing?”

 “I knew it!  They know Levi, they freaking _know_!  God, I knew it!  And now they’ve poisoned me!  I didn’t even do anything, Levi!  That’s not fair!”

Levi sucked in a big breath before speaking again.  “Eren, can I speak to Marco again, please?”

A moment passed before a choked up Eren replied, “Levi, are you going to come get me?  Please?”  He sounded disappointed. 

_Oh god.  Damn brat!_

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you soon,” he thought he heard Eren sigh in relief.  “I just need to speak to Marco first, ok?  Please hand the phone back to him.  Please.”

“Ok,” he sounded somewhat relieved.  “But hurry,ok?  I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.  They can’t see, Levi.  They can’t see.  They’ll hate me!”  He heard Eren talking to someone.  “Here’s Marco,” Eren said in a hushed voice again.  “Levi, I don’t want them to hate me.  You either, ok?  Especially not you.  Hurry!”

Levi could hear the phone being shuffled, then Marco was back on the line.  “Levi?”

“Marco, why is Eren high as fuck?” he tried to keep a level voice because he knew it wasn’t their fault if Eren did something so stupid, but the annoyance still managed to seep through.

Marco tried to sound serious, but you could tell he was struggling to force down giggles, “It was an accident, Levi!  I promise.  We told him which ones were, you know, ‘special,’ and which ones were regular.  Somehow, he ate the wrong ones.”

Levi sighed heavily with annoyance.  Of course, only this brat would manage to make that kind of mistake.  “Marco, Eren wants me to pick him up, but I don’t have a car.  And there’s no way I’m asking any of my friends, for reasons which I don’t care to discuss.  Is there any way you guys can bring him here?”

“Of course!  Jean and I will be right there with Eren.  See you in about five minutes!”

“Wait a second, Marco!” Levi nearly yelled to get the boy’s attention fearing he’d already hung up.  But Marco was still on the line.

“Yeah?”

“Marco, I haven’t even told you where I am…”

“Oh, that,” he laughed nervously.  “Eren has you on locator, so we know where you are.  We’re only a few blocks away.”

“What?”

“Yeah!  So we’ll be right there.  Bye!”

The line went dead.

He had him on locator?  Freaking stalker.

Levi turned back to the booth where his ex-childhood sweetheart and soon to be ex-best friend were now sitting together.  They seemed deep in conversation, and didn’t notice he was studying them.  He approached them slowly, and it became evident that they were used to this sort of thing, they talked with such familiarity.  He heard Petra ask Erwin about co-workers Levi wasn’t even familiar with, yet she knew enough to refer to them by first name and was asking about their family. 

Levi stopped and wondered if he couldn’t just leave without a word.  It was rude, yes, but he didn’t really care to hear Erwin tell her how much he’d enjoyed lunch with her father the other day.  He suddenly had a flashback to the other night at the opera when Petra had arrived late.  He hadn’t thought about it at the time because he’d been pissed as hell.  Now, it was so obvious he could kick himself for being such a naïve idiot.  Petra said she’d been late because she had a flat tire, but the tires on her car were all regular.  If she’d had a flat, one of them would have been the spare.

He could hear the exact moment the conversation shifted to neutral ground once they noticed his approach.        

Erwin was back to glaring at him.  Petra nervously said, “Oh, you’re back!  I’ll just get out of your way-”

“That won’t be necessary,” Levi cut her off.  She sat back down with a confused look.  She looked at Erwin, but he just shrugged an ‘I don’t know either.’  “A friend of mine needs my help, so I have to go.” 

“Oh,” Petra bit out with a frown.  “Is this the same _friend_ who was texting you earlier?”

“Maybe,” he said coldly, “but I guess _you’ll_ never know.”

Petra sucked in her breath.  Her eyes turned to Erwin for help, but he pretended not to notice. 

“I hope everything is well with your new friend, Levi,” he managed to sound sincere, though Levi could hear the barest underlying hints of frustration and anger.  “We can always continue our talk later.”

Levi studied him for a moment before deciding to go ahead and speak his mind.  “Tell me something, Erwin,” the giant blonde looked at him questioningly.  “Are you and Mike still together?  Does he even know you’re here right now?”

Erwin’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but Levi noticed.  He didn’t say anything.

“I thought so.” He turned and left without looking back. 

 

* * * * *

 

Jean’s black mustang screeched to a halt right in front of him the second Levi stepped outside the restaurant followed by a second car Levi was not familiar with, an aqua mini cooper.  Eren immediately jumped out of Jean’s mustang and threw himself at Levi, hanging on for dear life.

“Levi!” he whined.  “Thank god!  I thought I’d never see you again!”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, damn brat!  Get off me!”

Eren let him go, but didn’t look convinced.  “ _How_ do you know?  Levi, are you in on it with them?  Did you all plan this together?  Not you too, Levi…” the look of betrayal on his face was too much at this point.  Levi smacked Eren’s cheeks with the palms of his hands simultaneously.  Eren seemed dumbfounded by the action.  “Ow!"

“Eren, look at me,” he demanded sternly grabbing the boy’s chin.  Eren was rubbing his cheeks.  Once he had his undivided attention, Levi continued.  “Remember how I trusted you when we first met, shitty brat?”  Eren almost laughed, but tightened his lips and nodded instead.  “Ok, now I need you to trust _me_ ok?”

Understanding flashed across Eren’s face, “I do trust you Levi!”

“Then why are you questioning me?” he asked narrowing his eyes.

“I’m sorry…” he huffed looking away.

Levi sighed.  “It’s ok,” he said, ruffling Eren’s hair.  “Come on, let’s get you home.  I think we’ve both had a long day already.”

Eren nodded but still looked nervous. 

“Levi, who’s _that_ guy?”

Levi followed Eren’s line of sight and was stunned to find Erwin openly glaring at them from the hostess area inside the diner. 

“He’s so big and bright.  Like the sun.  Like Apollo.  Am I hallucinating?  Do people hallucinate when they’re about to die, Levi?”

“Probably,” Levi deadpanned.  Eren turned back to him with a horrified expression.  “You’re not hallucinating, I see him too.  You’re not dying, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Levi grabbed Eren by the arm and led him back into Jean’s mustang. 

 

* * * * *

 

“As I _said_ , I didn’t know!” a highly amused Ymir repeated to Levi.

 “I supposed there’s no way anyone could’ve known,” he agreed. 

Levi’s condo was crowded with all Eren’s new friends.  They’d all been at the picnic and had followed Jean back to continue their party at his expense.  The aqua mini cooper belonged to Krista.    The petite blonde, as it turned out, was more than just a cute barista.  She knew her way expertly around the bar and whipped up the best mojito Levi had ever tasted.  He ordered the rest of the hooligans to thank her because she was the only reason he was not tossing them all out on their asses.  Armin and Mikasa hadn’t followed them directly from the park.  They’d stopped for snacks and beer first, which is why he hadn’t seen their silver civic at the restaurant with the others.  They all agreed Levi’s condo was amazing and openly admired his record collection, which they were still going through.  Levi thanked whatever lord there may be that he was too buzzed to have a meltdown about those brats going through his stuff right then.

It seemed ironic but fitting that Ymir and Krista turned out to be friends with all the other brats.  There had almost been a full on confrontation at the park, but eventually Eren apologized and it appeared Ymir had let it go.  That is, until she switched the brownies and made sure Eren got the special ones.

“Can you imagine!” Ymir squealed with glee.  “Someone like _him_ ,” Levi knew what she meant.  She said it like that because of course the others didn’t know and they wanted to keep it that way.  “I figured he’d be the _last_ person to be straight edge.  What a square!  Pfft!”  She burst out laughing.

“Hey Connie,” Jean blurted out then.  “Remember the time you tried acid?  This is almost like that!”

Connie, who had been laughing with the rest of them until then, stopped to consider what Jean was talking about.  “Aw man!  Don’t tell them about that Jean!” his face flushed pink with embarrassment.

Of course Jean continued, “It was classic!” he laughed.  “You were talking to the sun for like ten minutes before you realized what the fuck you were doing!”

Connie threw a cushion at Jean, but the tawny kid managed to block it.  “You jerk!  I nearly ruined my eyesight!”

Marco threw Jean a disapproving glare before asking Levi, “How is Eren doing, is he ok?”

“He seemed fine, just shaken up,” Levi answered with a shrug.  “I told him he just has to give it time.  He’s resting now.”

“Oh good,” Marco said with genuine relief.  “We didn’t intend to give him any since he seemed so adamant about it, you know.”

“God!  I already said I was sorry!” Ymir rolled her eyes.  “Besides, he kind of deserves it for that little stunt he pulled yesterday.”

Connie burst out laughing.  “Oh man!  I can’t believe you guys blew up the espresso machine!”

“Excuse me?” Levi asked indignantly.  “What do you mean ‘you guys’?  I had nothing to do with it!”

“Sorry buddy,” Ymir taunted.  “Looks like you’re guilty by association.”

Levi gave her a grumpy look, but said nothing further about the matter.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, followed by a knock.  Levi hated solicitors and planned to fully ignore it. 

“Oh, looks like you have a delivery,” Krista noted cheerfully.

“How can you tell?”

“They always do that, doorbell then knock,” she mimicked the actions as she said the words.

“Oh, thanks” Levi said simply before heading over to answer it.

  It was indeed the FedEx guy with a delivery from Hanji.  Levi signed for it and then let the guys know he was going to open it in his room, but they should feel free to make themselves at home.

He quietly set the package on the rug next to the bed, so as not to disturb Eren.  He fished out the rest of Hanji’s items from the back of his closet and laid them out on the rug before opening the new package.  It turned out to be another picture.  This time it was of a doctor.  Levi wasn’t sure, but he suspected he’d seen this doctor at the institution before during one of his visits.

“How come you have a picture of Hanji’s aunt?”

Levi jumped, not expecting to hear Eren’s voice so close right behind him.  Well, not expecting to hear it at all for that matter.  Wasn’t he asleep?  He picked up the strange picture of the lady Hanji had sent him and held it up for Eren to get a better look.

“This is Hanji’s aunt?” he asked.

“Yes, don’t _you_ know her?”

“No,” Levi said with some irritation.  “I know Hanji _has_ an aunt.  She’s her only relative that I know of, but she never really talks about her and I’m not the type to pry.  How do you know this is her?”

“Well,” Eren mused.  “Hanji liked to summon me often.  She said I was fascinating and wanted to know everything about me.  Honestly, she scared the shit out of me at first.  I’d never seen a human with such a maniacal look about them before.  She studied every little thing I did with such relish!  Stupid things too, like what I was wearing, the way my eyes changed with different emotions, the way my voice changed when I was tired.  Then she’d immediately jotted it down in her little notebook.  It was fucking creepy!   The first couple of times, I thought it was another demon playing some kind of sick joke on me.  She gained my trust though.  She always did exactly what she said she would, never tried any… funny stuff.  In exchange for information from me and my world, she told me about hers.  It seemed fair.”

“Eren,” Levi separated the other items in front of himself so Eren could get a better view.  “Do any of these other things mean anything to you?”

Eren leaned in resting his chin on Levi’s shoulder to inspect the other items. 

“Hmm…” he looked at each item carefully.  “Yes.  That letter addressed to Hanji, that’s her aunt’s address.  Those keys are a copy of the keys to her car… which is probably at Hanji’s aunt’s place.  How did she manage to smuggle out her wallet?  The nuts I think are self explanatory,” he chuckled softly.  “At least she still has her sense of humor…”

“Well, shit,” Levi exclaimed as he began to realize Hanji had been sending him the means to get her out all along.  She probably couldn’t really say anything on their visits because they were under constant surveillance.  He felt the warmth from Eren’s proximity on his back, but didn’t say anything because right now this was more important.  “What do you think the magazine and junior mints are for?”

“I don’t know,” Eren said with a husky voice.  He reached around Levi as if he were going to pick up the magazine, but at the last minute he rested his hand on Levi’s thigh instead, giving it a gentle squeeze.  Levi turned to glare at him, but Eren was quicker grabbing Levi from behind into a tight embrace.  He tried prying his hands away, but Eren wouldn’t budge.  He brushed the tip of his nose along Levi’s neck, breathing in his scent as he traveled from his shoulder to his jaw.  “Mmm… Levi you smell so good.”

“Shitty brat!” Levi grumbled, hating the unsteadiness of his voice.  He could feel Eren pressed flush against his back, his thighs enclosing his own possessively.  He could feel Eren’s chest vibrate when he hummed in contentment.  He struggled to get out of Eren’s grasp when he felt something nudging his backside and he was dead certain Eren did not have a banana in his pocket.  Eren could not be moved though, much to his frustration.  “Your little drug adventure has made you horny.  Go take care of your filthy problem in the bathroom!”

“Aw, that’s no fun...” Eren muttered, voice thick with lust.  He brushed his surprisingly soft lips against Levi’s ear before giving it a slow lick making Levi’s breath hitch.  Eren then nibbled on his lobe leisurely, nipping then tugging.  His hands had been clenched into fists when he’d initially grabbed Levi; now they relaxed, one feeling its way along the muscles of his chest, the other carefully following the curves of his abdomen, making Levi shudder.  He could feel Eren’s chest expand and contract behind him with every breath he took.  He felt his own body flush with so much contact he wasn’t used to anymore.    

“Levi…” Eren kept repeating softly, drawing his name out longer each time as if he were enjoying the taste of it in his mouth.

Eren was alternately nibbling and licking different areas of Levi’s neck and jaw line.  The feeling of Eren’s hot tongue followed by his cool breath on his skin sent shivers up and down Levi’s body.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, Levi was embarrassed to realize his own breathing had become labored.  Levi’s right hand had somehow wrapped itself around Eren’s strong arm.  His left hand had found its way into Eren’s hair, where his fingers wove themselves into his soft golden brown locks and held fast.  He was holding onto Eren like this as their bodies began to rock slowly, Eren growling softly into his ear. 

Levi heard a moan escape his throat and knew he’d lost control, but found it very hard to care at the moment.  He had his own problem that needed taking care of now that had nothing to do with recreational drug use and everything to do with this shitty brat he’d let into his home. 

At that same moment Eren’s body convulsed violently, his arms suddenly letting go.  Levi crashed into the rug in front of him face first, his cheek getting the worst of the rug burn.  Eren rushed into the bed behind him, whimpering softly.  No sooner had Levi’s shock worn off than curses streamed nonstop out of his mouth.  He got up and stormed over to where Eren had hidden himself under the covers.  He was just about to pull off the covers to give the brat a piece of his mind for being such a colossal tease when Eren guessed his intentions and gripped the sheets tighter around himself.

“Levi, don’t!” he sounded anguished.  “I don’t want you to see me like this!”

“What?  See you how?”

Eren convulsed again and Levi could hear him retch, bringing his anger up to a whole new level.

“If you’re being sick all over my sheets, you brat-”

Levi’s tirade was stopped short when he heard Eren sniffling.  Was he crying?!  “Levi, please just leave me alone.  I’ll clean up everything, I swear!  Please leave!”

Levi’s anger dissipated when he heard Eren stifling sobs.  “Eren, I’m not leaving you like this.  Tell me what’s wrong!”

“No, Levi.  You can’t see this.  Please?”

Levi was not about to leave Eren in this state of distress.  He was grabbed the sheets again to try and drag them away when he felt the air shift around Eren for the second time since he’d met him.  He froze knowing something was about to happen.

 

He did not however expect that the shivering mound that was Eren bundled under the sheets would suddenly more than triple in size in the blink of an eye.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...I have no excuses.


	9. Perception and Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get a little bonding time to clear the air.

* * *

 

“What the hell?” Levi muttered under his breath.

He let go of the sheets and took a couple of steps back.  Yes he was still concerned about the brat, but now he was also concerned about himself.  Eren had more than tripled in size and didn’t want him around.  Why all of a sudden?  Last time he pulled his demon magic nonsense it was just to piss him off with his near nudity.  He’d laughed his head off at Levi’s embarrassment.  This was definitely different, clearly Eren didn’t have control of himself and he didn’t want Levi to see what he’d become.  Levi didn’t want to leave him alone though.  He was still under the influence and his actions were unpredictable.  If something went wrong, he would feel responsible.  He was the one who’d let him run around free after all.

“Eren,” Levi ordered.  “Come out from under there.”

“No!  I told you to go away!” 

“Eren, if you can’t control your own powers you are a danger to yourself and to others.  I can’t leave you alone under these circumstances.  Come out from under there so we can talk about it.  We’ll figure something out.  Ok?”

“What could _you_ possibly do?”  He heard Eren grumble. 

“You’re right,” Levi agreed, ticked off by the put down.   “I might not be able to do jack shit!  But I do know we won’t get anywhere if you keep having a fucking hissy fit about it like a little girl.  Give me some credit, shitty brat.  You never know, I might surprise you.”

The sheets moved slightly, but it seemed like he was just securing them more tightly around himself to make sure Levi wouldn’t be able to pull them away.  The childish action grated on his nerves.

“Eren, if you don’t trust me, then why are you even here?  Were you really even planning to help me, or did you have your own agenda all along?  You’ve been running around all over town having the time of your life while Hanji’s still stuck in that god awful place!  Honestly, I would _like_ your help, but if you’re going to be an obstacle rather than a help I think I could do it myself.  Don’t make me ask you to leave.”

He heard a sharp intake of breath from within the sheets.  Ok, at least the brat was paying attention.

“So,” Eren spat out angrily his voice taking on the annoyed monotone of when they’d first spoken.  “You would compel me back to the other side, human?”

Fuck, Levi hated being referred to as a ‘human.’  It sounded so condescending coming from a goofball like him.  It irritated him to no end and worst of all, he didn’t even know why.  After all, he was in fact a human.

“No, I still don’t know how to do that,” Levi retorted.  “I wouldn’t make you go back to your own realm, but I don’t have to let you hang around here.  You’d have to leave and find some other idiot to harass.” 

“You would throw me out?” the anger in his voice held a hint of hurt.  Then he added so softly, it was barely audible.  “You promised…”

“What?” Levi wasn’t sure if he heard correctly.

Eren didn’t answer.  He growled softly before continuing with his tirade.  “My father warned me humans were not to be trusted!  In all the years I have crossed over to this side your kind has proven him right again and again.  When I came upon Hanji that finally changed and I was enraptured by her, truth be told.  She has been the only genuine soul I have ever encountered here; a true diamond hidden amongst glass monsters.  She was the only one!  But then I met you, and I thought… I thought maybe…” he paused to sigh tiredly.  “I guess I am just an idiot after all.”

“What are you trying to say, exactly?” Levi knew when he was being insulted though Eren’s words were less than clear.

Eren took some time to mull over what he was going to answer.  Levi could hear him taking deep breaths to calm himself.

“I must _not_ be seen in my current state,” he forced out, voice shaking with anger.  “And neither can you unleash me upon your people as I am.  It should not take more than an hour or so for me to revert back to a more acceptable form.  Leave me be for just that much time, it is not so much to ask and it is the _last_ thing I will ask of you!  As soon as I can manage I will teleport myself far from here, I will get out of your hair.  But I will leave of my _own_ accord, human!  I do not wish to remain here any longer.”  He growled lowly and tightened the sheets further around himself.

Levi stood speechless.

Great, he’d managed to upset Eren even more than he’d already been.  Now he was angry _and_ he was going to leave!

_Well, what did you expect?  You were going to throw him out anyway._

He walked over to his window, looking out at the park and tried to clear his head.  He took a moment to consider Eren’s words.  Did he want the brat to leave?  No.  Not really.  The logical side of his mind told him he should want the demon out of his life.  It’s what normal people would want.  But Levi was surprised to realize he had already grown used to having him around.  Despite what he was and what he could possibly do, the kid hadn’t done anything to deserve his mistrust.  To say he’d been a handful would be the understatement of the century, Levi had never had to deal with so much mischief in such a short amount of time in his life!  Even Hanji’s shenanigans didn’t compare.  Much like Hanji however, as much as he drove him crazy, he also appreciated him.  He distracted him from his own problems.  Levi had a tendency to be a loner, to deal with things on his own.  Left alone, he would still be sulking, dwelling on every little thing that was wrong with his life and probably drinking himself into a quiet oblivion.  He was not one to go out and break himself out of a funk, Hanji usually took him out and forced fun on him.  Now Eren had successfully done it in his best friend’s absence. 

His mind wandered to all the times Eren had put up with his verbal abuse with a good natured chuckle.  Though Levi had been nothing but sour and foul tempered, the kid had still smiled warmly and even looked upon him as a friend.  Feeling like a first class ass, he walked back to where Eren was huddled on his bed.  His earlier approach had been a mistake.  He’d let anger control his actions and he regretted his words.  If Eren left under the current circumstances, his conscience wouldn’t let him forget about it.  He sat down next to Eren on the bed.  Eren shuffled away, putting a little distance between himself and Levi, but didn’t say anything. 

Levi took a deep breath before speaking calmly.  “I’m sorry Eren,” he began.  “I don’t want you to leave.  I just want to help you, but I don’t know how and you won’t even let me try.  That kind of pisses me off, but it’s not your fault.  I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”

“You do not wish for me to leave?” Eren sounded unsure.

“No.  I didn’t mean to bully you, ok?  I should really be the last person bullying anyone.  I’m just worried about you.  I like having you here.”

“You- you do?”

“Why do you sound so shocked?” Levi chastised.  “If I didn’t I would have thrown you out on your fat ass by now, don’t you think?”

He heard Eren stifle a laugh.

“My ass is _not_ fat _.”_

Levi smirked at his comment.  “I know.  Forgive me?”

Eren was silent for a moment.

“You want _my_ forgiveness?” his quiet voice was full of incredulity.

“Don’t push me, brat, I won’t beg you for it!” Levi snapped, mostly because he was starting to feel embarrassed. 

“It is forgotten,” he answered softly.  “Levi,” he continued hesitantly, “I know you think I am being overdramatic, but I really do not feel comfortable with you being here and seeing me like this.  I cannot control myself because of those stupid brownies!  I am not exactly … presentable… at the moment.”

Levi took a moment to consider what he was going to say.  He didn’t want to stick his foot in his mouth again.

“Eren, it doesn’t matter what you look like to me.  You’re still the same shitty brat who causes me unimaginable social anxiety no matter what.   Besides, it’s not like you’re trying to cut my throat to ribbons right now.  Right?”  

“I could though…”

“Oh?  Are you going to?”

“No?”

“That- didn’t sound very convincing, brat!  It doesn’t matter though.  Quite frankly, if you are hell bent on slashing my throat in the middle of the night it doesn’t matter if you look like a gigantic space slug or a freaking centerfold bunny, does it?  I probably wouldn’t even see it coming.”

“I am an ugly monster, Levi…”

“I’ll be the judge of that.  I’ve seen plenty of real life monsters and I’ve also seen a lot of movie monsters.  I’m pretty sure I’m desensitized,” Levi said thoughtfully.  “Plus, there’s video games, so you can add gratuitous violence to that.  Also I watch a lot of crime shows on television, so… if you ever need help disposing of a body, I know exactly what to do.”

Eren scooted a little closer to Levi, which relieved some of the tension he was feeling in his shoulders.  Maybe he could salvage this disaster of a situation after all.

“Levi, what do you imagine a demon would look like?  When you think of the word demon, what do you see in your mind?”

“Honestly?” Levi considered for a moment.  “I think of gremlins.”

Eren gave a full belly laugh, even shaking the bed a bit.  Levi could not be more relieved.  “They _do_ count, but why are they the first thing that comes to mind?”

“I don’t know.  Probably because they’re troublemakers like you.  You know, sabotaging airplanes and shit.”

Eren scoffed, apparently offended.  “How does that even-?!  Oh my god, you’re the worst!”

_Oh good, he’s even starting to sound normal again._

“It wasn’t what I thought of first when I saw you just now, though.  I mean, you’re almost touching the goddamned ceiling!  It’s really throwing me off.”

Eren gasped.  “Wait a minute, is that why you brought up giant space slugs earlier, you jerk?!”

Levi shrugged, but then realized Eren probably couldn’t see it. 

“I don’t have many things to compare you with!  What do you want from me?”

“Well, the height…  It’s kind of cheating, I guess.  They do that when I’m tensed up,” Eren said as if Levi knew exactly what he was talking about.  “Here, let me just…”

Eren shuffled around within the sheet and as if he had managed to fold himself a couple of times, he was back to almost near normal size.

“What did you do?  I didn’t see your magic air rippling stuff again, so how did you do that?”

“It wasn’t magic, I just…” he puffed out a breath.  “I think I should just tell you how Hanji described me.  Maybe it will make better sense to you.”

“Ok.”

“All right, let me see if I can remember this correctly…” Eren moved around some more.  Levi was pretty sure he’d brought his legs up onto the bed to sit more comfortably.  He could picture Eren squaring his shoulders getting ready to argue his side of a debate.  “Ok, so Hanji says some people believe demons are fallen angels.  I guess that’s some sort of religious reference and I’m still not very clear on the idea because we don’t have things such as ‘religion’ on the other side.  Yes, we live in a different dimension; and yes, we’re magical; we _get_ that, ok?  But that doesn’t make us somehow fucking all knowing!  No, it’s _not_ inherent just because you’ve been brainwashed to believe it is.  Just because you want to impose your weird ass opinion of what we should and should not know on us doesn’t make it so!  Newsflash- we have no fucking clue what happens after we die, either!  As far as _we_ know, you’re dead!  That’s it, too bad!  Either your time’s up, or you fucked up- the point is, now you’re done-  Poof, the end!”

The sheet kept getting jerked around and Levi could just imagine Eren’s expressive hand gestures that went along with his words.

 

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

 

_Welcome back, shitty nonsense spewing brat!_

 

“Wait, where was I?  Oh yeah!  So, Hanji says we’re like fallen angels, where we used to be all good and pure and we obeyed our ruler blindly without question.  We carried out orders and basically were just an army to enforce the ideals everyone was supposed to adhere to.  She said that was like millions and trillions of years ago when there was no such thing as good and evil.  Then, something happened and the first of our kind got into his head that he didn’t want to follow everything blindly, he wanted to march to his own drum, and have opinions and whatnot, _different_ than what he was forced to follow.  He _dared_ to voice his opinion, heaven forbid!  And for _this_ he was given the worst punishment imaginable?!  I mean, what the fuck is _that_ all about?!  It’s like: ‘minion, that group down there spoke ill of me, go down there and smite them’: ‘isn’t that- isn’t that a little _extreme_ maybe? How about we just give them a famine instead?’ : ‘HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!’: Then, BOOM you’re cast out of heaven.  For fucking _EVER_ , might I add.”

 

Levi’s smile had gradually turned into snickering and now he couldn’t control his howling.

“Levi!  It’s not supposed to be funny!” Eren chided.

“I’m so- sorry!” Levi tried to apologize in between gasps for air.  “I’m sorry!  Please continue.”

He heard Eren huff with frustration, but then he did continue.

 

“Ok, so anyway.  I guess angels are all good and impossibly pristine and their wings are sparkly white and bright light and so pretty it hurts to fucking even look at them.  But that was all taken away from us when we were cast out, and demons are the complete opposite.  We’re darkness and evil and our wings are black and gross and we are so hideous that people _die_ of fucking heart attacks in sheer horror of our ugliness,” he stopped here to sigh wearily.  “So, that’s what Hanji said and she thinks it applies to me.”

He stopped for a moment to let Levi digest the information.

“So…” Levi tried to apply everything Eren had just blurted to something that made sense in his mind.  “What you’re telling me is..you have _wings_?!  Holy shit!  I want to see!”  He grabbed Eren’s sheet again and tried to pull it off.

“No!  Stop it!” Eren struggled to keep Levi away from him.  “Don’t you see now, Levi?  That’s why I don’t want you to see me!  I don’t want you to die from looking at my hideous face!”

Levi almost burst out laughing again from Eren’s ridiculous statement, but barely managed to stop himself.  The kid seemed really agitated.  His curiosity was still killing him though.

“Just the wings then, please?”

“Well…”

“Pretty please?”

 

Levi waited patiently as Eren contemplated his request.  His hands were itching to feel those wings though.  The idea of them were so intriguing, he didn’t think he would be able to respect Eren’s wishes if he were to deny him.  Luckily, it didn’t come to that.  Eren carefully uncovered a small part of his self and slowly stretched out a beautiful, long, dark wing that left Levi breathless.  The feathers were sleek and shiny, the most beautiful color of the darkest obsidian which would put any raven’s wings to shame.  Levi carefully reached over and lightly traced the tips of his fingers over the nearest of the long primaries, feeling their strength.  The secondaries were of course shorter and a little softer.  He moved his fingertips slowly to follow the line of the coverts.  The softness of the wings were so distracting to him that he almost didn’t catch the fact that Eren’s shoulder was also in view.

Eren’s shoulder was also covered in soft feathers and Levi was almost beginning to wonder if he was some kind of bird demon when he noticed that they became sparser along the small bit of his upper arm that he could see.  There were also patterns of scarlet that he couldn’t really make out.  He slowly moved closer to further inspect the markings, being careful to disturb the bed as little as possible so Eren wouldn’t freak out.  He noticed Eren’s skin was a sickly pale white color that was so translucent it was almost blue.  The scarlet patterns were striking against the pale skin and his liquid black wings made for a beautiful combination.  He followed the line of Eren’s shoulder to where it met his neck and got a peek of his hair.  It seemed to be longer than how he normally had it and it was as dark as his wings.  Levi was dying of curiosity as to what the rest of the boy looked like now.

He rested his hand on Eren’s shoulder and waited to see how he would react.  Eren flinched, but seemed hesitant about how he wanted to react.  Levi slowly moved his other hand toward the blanket edge near Eren’s shoulder and once he got a grip of it he started to slowly remove it.

“Levi-” Eren started with a warning in his voice.

“Eren,” Levi cut him off.  “People don’t die from someone else’s hideousness, ok.  I think you misunderstood that lunatic, which is very possible since her rants are so disorganized she doesn’t even know what she means half the time.”

“I figured as much, but I still don’t feel comfortable about you seeing me.”

“Look brat, for starters, your wings are not fucking gross.  They are anything _but_ gross.  They are amazing and I am so jealous, you could not believe.  Idiot.”

“It’s not really my wings I’m worried about…”

“Well, let me make up my own mind, ok?”

He slowly removed the rest of the blanket and found Eren staring back at him with large golden eyes that seemed very familiar.  They were round and honey colored, like a harvest moon.  They reminded him of…cat eyes!

“Oh, shit!” he suddenly remembered.  “It’s you!”

“What?”

“It was you!  That night when I was drunk off my ass!  That was you that I remember!”

“Well, yes,” Eren rolled his eyes.  “You did summon me that night, after all…but I thought you forgot everything about it?”

“I did, I couldn’t remember a damn thing!  But I remembered your eyes!  I remember seeing you now!”

He remembered Eren’s layered black shoulder length hair, his translucent skin that allowed a lot of his veins to stand out, which he found a little gross, but they oddly complemented the scarlet markings around his arms, shoulders and chest.  Now that he could look a little closer he noticed they resembled the symbols in Hanji’s demonology book.  His nails were black and long.  They seemed very sharp as well, like daggers.  He could very well imagine them being used as weapons.   And then there were those beautiful black wings.  Damn him!  Eren wasn’t a monster, he was beautiful, the idiot just didn’t know it. 

Eren gave a feral smile, revealing fangs. 

Levi tilted his head in question.  Besides the obvious physical transformation, there was something else a little different about the boy that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. 

“Eren, are you…taller?”

Eren nodded.

Levi looked at him more closely.  Not only was he taller, he also seemed to be... bigger?  Yes, definitely.  His muscles had more bulk, his chest was broader, his shoulders looked like they could hold up a freaking refrigerator.  His throat suddenly felt very dry.

_Ok, not going down this road right now!_  Levi tried to distract himself from the view in front of him.

“Why do you make yourself appear shorter?”

He shrugged.  “Just trying to look like a normal person, you know.  Average looks, average height, non-threatening college age.  We can’t just pop in scaring the summoner into an early grave,” he chuckled.  Though the demon was an intimidating sight to behold, the boy inside remained the same.  “Imagine!”

“Eren, how old are you?”

Levi was slightly embarrassed to blurt out this question, but he was dying to know now.

Eren didn’t seem fazed.  “Well, I am accurately representing the age of twenty-one in your years.  That translates to me being only a couple of hundred years old in terms of a demon lifespan.  I’m still considered an adolescent, really.”

“ _Only_ a couple hundred?  And you’re considered a teenager?”

“Yeah!” he smiled, then frowned.  “That must sound really old to you, huh?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Levi lied.  “You’re way older than me, but you’re a teenager.  Perfect sense.”

Eren bit his lip as he mulled something over.  Levi almost wanted to tell him to spit it out, but decided he had harassed the boy enough for today.

“Levi,” Eren asked shyly.  “It really doesn’t bother you to see me this way?”

_Yes!  But not the way you think._

“Why would it?”

“Because I’m a mon-”

Levi grabbed Eren’s chin, forcing him to look only at him.

“Eren, the way you look does not make you a monster.  Monsters are monsters because of what they _do_.  Got that?”

Eren still seemed unsure, but nodded anyway.

“Good, now get some rest.  You seem to be doing much better, so I will go attend to your friends.  Also, I’ll see if I can get a hold of Hanji’s aunt.  I want to see her as soon as possible.”

Eren tucked his wings back in and rested belly down on the bed. 

_No wonder he sleeps that way_ , Levi mused.

 

* * * * *

 

Levi stepped into the hallway to find Ymir leaning against the wall waiting for him.  His face heated remembering what had occurred earlier.  How long had she been there?

“So, you finally saw him huh?” she asked teasingly.

“Yes.  So what?” Levi felt no need to give away any more information than necessary.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t hear anything.  I can feel the shifting, and I can feel his presence now that he’s in his true form, that’s all,” she chuckled darkly.  “You know, short stack, you are _so_ lucky that’s the demon you ended up summoning.” 

In the back of his mind, Levi knew what she was getting at.  He didn’t like to think about it, though.

“He’s considered abnormal amongst his own kind,” she elaborated, sensing his unease.  “If it had been any other, you and I wouldn’t be here having this conversation right now.”

“I know that,” Levi let out an exasperated breath.  “I was drunk out of my mind that night.  So, the way I see it, if I had summoned someone other than him, I would have deserved what I got for being such a fucking idiot.”

She laughed heartily.  “Oh good, at least you aren’t delusional!  Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy.  Sure, we mess around a lot, but we understand each other.  He’s the only one of his kind I can tolerate.” 

“So, you knew who he was when we saw you at the mall?”

“No, this is the first time he’s taken this form,” she explained.  “I knew _what_ he was, but I didn’t know _who_ he was.  That fucker!  He got me good.”

“So, is this your way of telling me that you’ll beat me up if I mess with him?”

She grinned from ear to ear. 

“Yes, actually.  He’s like a brother to me, so… there we are.”

“Ok, then point taken.”  

 

Levi moved to walk past her when she grabbed his arm.

“He’s told you everything, right short stack?”

Levi wasn’t sure what she meant.

“What?”

She looked at him searching for answers he was one hundred percent sure he didn’t have.

“Well, shit!” she finally said with a scowl.  “I hope that idiot knows what he’s doing.”

 

She sighed heavily before letting him go and heading back into the living room to find Krista, leaving Levi to wonder what in the world she was getting at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a hard time deciding what demon!Eren should look like! I hope it's not too cliche. Also, hot people who have no idea how hot they are! Woo!


	10. Conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi visit Hanji's aunt.

* * *

 

Once he was feeling better, Eren had left with his group of friends to a concert.  They were allegedly college students, but Levi was beginning to wonder when they had time to go to class, let alone study.  They were going to watch a local indie punk band named Dinosaur Puppy Farm.  The band was a local favorite with college kids and was quickly gaining mass media attention.  Tonight they would be making a special appearance at a small club near the university campus for their die-hard fans.  This was like striking gold for the gang because once the band got big, they would almost certainly never play small venues again.  Such was the curse of a musical group actually being popular, or as it was referred to by angry fans: “selling out.” 

“We’ll be so fucking close, we’ll get to shower in the lead singer’s _sweat_ every time he makes a sudden turn!” Krista had squealed with delight, which earned her a high five from Mikasa and an angry glare from Ymir. 

Marco wouldn’t be going because he had previous plans with his family.  He seemed pretty bummed about that until Jean promised him to get as much of it on video as he could.  They had invited Levi to join them, but he opted to stay home since he had a lot of projects with approaching deadlines that needed his attention. 

Also, he was kind of tired, but he wasn’t about to tell them that. 

 

* * * * *

 

By the time Eren got home Levi was still in his office, eyes bloodshot from staring at his computer for so many hours.  The brat reeked of alcohol but other than that seemed to be functioning normally. 

“Levi?  It’s almost two in the morning.  I thought you’d be in bed by now.”

Levi blinked his eyes trying to focus them on the brat standing beside him, but found he could not.  He actually hadn’t realized it was that late.  He knew Eren wasn’t going to let him keep working, so he saved all his files before shutting down his computer.

“How was the concert?” he asked sleepily.

“It was great!  I got a bunch of bruises in the mosh pit!  They look so fucking disgusting right now, they’re beautiful!   It was so much fun!  The other guys were so jealous.  Oh!- the band announced another show in a few weeks.  You have to come see them with me!  Those guys are _amazing_!” 

“Maybe,” he mumbled then crinkled his nose.  “You reek of booze and sweat.  Go shower!”

Eren smiled then turned to comply when Levi called after him.

“Hey!”

The boy turned back to look at him questioningly.

“Considering what happened to you earlier, how come you can drink without problems?”

“Oh, that,” Eren chuckled.  “We have alcohol on the other side, Levi.  It’s not so hard to make.  I can handle myself fine.”

Levi was too tired to question any further.  Besides, that made sense.  Right?

“Ok.”

Eren smiled at him again then left to go shower.  Levi cleaned up his office, putting everything away in neat files before heading to his bedroom to get ready for bed.

He was heading to the living room sofa with his blanket and pillow, dead tired and ready to drop when Eren came out of the shower toweling off his hair already in his borrowed sleep pants.  Levi didn’t allow him to parade around in just boxers again, but he had flat out refused to put on a sleep shirt, declaring his skin needed to “breathe” in the nighttime. 

“What are you doing?” Eren demanded when he saw Levi.

“I’m making cupcakes.  What the fuck does it look like I’m doing shithead?  I’m tired and I’m going to bed.”

Eren frowned at his words.  He dashed back into the bathroom to hang up his towel and then marched directly over to Levi.

“I thought we already settled this!  Why are you being difficult?”

“Settled what?”

“That you’re not sleeping on the sofa in your own house, Levi!”

Levi studied him for a moment, finding himself lost in a conversation yet again with this brat.  He noticed one of the afore-mentioned bruises on Eren’s ribcage, but didn’t say anything about it.  It did look pretty awesome.  He felt irresponsible for even thinking that.

“So… _you’re_ sleeping here then?”

“No!” Eren rolled his eyes, “ _neither_ of us is.  Come on.”

Eren picked him up bridal style and carried him into the bedroom much to Levi’s outrage.

“What the fuck?!  Put me down you shitty brat!  I don’t remember agreeing to anything!”

“Yeah, I kinda figured you wouldn’t.  I think you talk in your sleep, Levi!”  Eren declared as if the revelation was amusing.

“Well, _genius_ , in that case I don’t think whatever I agreed to is valid!”

“Psh!  You didn’t complain about it before.”

“What?”  Levi tried to recall the previous nights, but only remembered falling asleep on the couch and then waking up in his own bed.  “Do you mean to tell me… you _asshole_ … that you spent the last couple of nights molesting me in my sleep?!” 

Eren tossed him playfully onto the bed.  “No… I don’t think it’s considered molesting you if you agreed to it.”

“I was _asleep_!”

“Nah, I think it counts.  You seemed pretty lucid to me.  Besides, any groping was entirely on your part.  You’re such a pervert!” he chuckled.

“What?!”

Eren turned off the lights and slid in beside Levi, hugging him closely and nuzzling his hair to the shorter man’s horror.  As outraged as he wanted to feel, he couldn’t bring himself to feel adequately angry enough to push him away though.  He was fresh out of the shower and smelled amazing.  Eren was so warm, warmer than regular people maybe.  Levi ‘s own natural body temperature always ran cold, so he was forever chilled.  In winter he had to sleep in sweat pants and many blankets to feel comfortable.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like I didn’t like it.  Besides, I told you, I need you close so I can keep an eye on you.” 

“Oh, _I’m_ the one who needs keeping an eye on now?” Levi scoffed.

“Not like that!  I need you close so I can protect you.”

“From what?!”

“I already told you…” of course Eren didn’t elaborate.  Instead he stifled a yawn, then mumbled, voice laced with sleep, “mmm… Good night Levi.”

“Damnit Eren!  If you told me in my sleep, I’m not going to remember any of it!”  Eren muttered something, but Levi couldn’t make out what it was.  It sounded more like a protest than an explanation anyway, so Levi didn’t prod him to repeat it.  “At least let go of me!”

“Hmm?”

“At least stay on your side of the bed, shitty brat!”

“Can’t sleep that way…”

“And I can’t sleep _this_ way!”

“Heh, you’re funny…”

Eren’s voice faded to light snoring.

Levi lay there trapped in Eren’s bear hug, fuming indignantly.

Eventually when Eren’s hold relaxed he was able to pry himself loose, but he didn’t leave the bed, he didn’t even scoot away.  Instead, he found himself examining the boy’s contours more closely in the light of the full moon spilling through the window.  It was hard to look at him now and not remember his beautiful demon form.  Seeing him this way so relaxed in slumber, he looked so peaceful, it was hard to imagine he was capable of hurting anyone.  Both forms he took were equally gorgeous; his human form in the cliché mundane way a person was thought to be handsome; his demon form in a mysterious and exotic way that nothing in this world could ever compare to.  He slowly and carefully brought his hand up to Eren’s face, lightly tracing the boy’s cheek and jawline.  He almost touched his full lips, but found he didn’t dare.  Instead he ran his fingers through his still damp hair and went back to staring and wondering about the boy until he too drifted off into sleep.

 

* * * * *

 

“Can you believe she had the nerve to bring ambrosia salad when she knew I was bringing the _exact_ _same thing_?  She wasn’t foolin’ anybody!  Everyone knows I bring the ambrosia; it’s my thing!  Every time we have one of these things, everybody, I mean _everybody_ \- even the pastor himself, always asks ‘Dottie, honey, you _are_ bringing your ambrosia, aren’t you?’ and I say ‘Of course, sweetie!  You know I always bring the ambrosia!’  I mean, I can understand that the poor thing was upset since her dishes were never popular, but it just made everybody _so uncomfortable,_ bless her poor heart!”

Levi was not sure at what point it was ok to stop nodding and pretending he was following the conversation.  At what point was it no longer considered rude?  How the fuck do people usually get out of these situations?!  He didn’t really have any family to speak of, so he wasn’t used to social niceties such as this.  It was a little hot sitting in the elder lady’s sun room, but he supposed that was the point to such a room.  The uncomfortable oak chairs had no padding and Levi could feel his butt going numb.  Eren had given up listening quite some time ago, opting to just glaze over as he stared at Hanji’s aunt with a deceptively passive look.  Though you couldn’t tell by looking at him, Levi could feel the horror emanating from the boy beside him.  It gave him a little comfort to know he wasn’t alone in his suffering.  Whether or not the elder woman had noticed Eren zoning out or not, Levi couldn’t tell.  She didn’t say anything about it, so maybe she didn’t care as long as one of the two was listening. 

Dot Pixis had been more than friendly enough over the phone when she agreed to meet with Levi to discuss Hanji’s situation.  She was indeed still very friendly even now.  The problem was, she would completely disregard any questions Levi asked her and just talk about what came into her head instead.  Levi had taken every opportunity when she paused to take a leisurely sip of her drink to ask about Hanji, but she just plain ignored him. 

Walking into Dot’s house was like walking into an antique store.  Yes, an antique store that smelled of old people and moth balls.  The clutter would make anyone claustrophobic; no wall was left bare; there were knick knacks covering every possible surface; collectibles and figurines were tucked into every shelf space, nook or cranny.  So many cabinets of collectibles occupied the space, there was barely any room to move around in her living room at all.  Levi cringed at the thought of how much constant dusting so many tiny objects would require.  His arms started to itch and he had to fight to keep from scratching.  The sofas were a cream color with bright yellow flowers.  Doilies topped the peak of each one like frosting.

The woman herself was thin with weathered skin that gave away her age.  This was particularly true around her eyes; the lines surrounding them deep indicating she’d been very expressive.  Now her visage seemed frozen in a state of constant amusement, her eyes sparkling with merriment.  Or maybe that was just the bourbon Levi had detected on her breath the second she’d greeted them at her front door.  She didn’t offer them any though, much to his disappointment.  She did offer them iced tea and sandwiches.  She made Eren take a couple of them because he looked like he was still a growing boy.  Levi almost spit out his tea at this remark, which earned him a glare from the demon.

Also, though he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, Levi had the sneaking suspicion that she may be bald.  He tried his best not to stare at her powder blue beehive every time it was jostled a tiny bit out of place, but it was like trying to ignore the marching band in a parade, there was just no way.  She also had the nervous habit of patting it down often, which only reinforced his theory.

Thus far, the sweet old lady had discussed in great detail with them the quirks of Hanji’s cats, Sawney and Bean, which she had taken charge of when Hanji was institutionalized.  Sawney was a large fat orange tabby and Bean was a scraggly looking plain black cat.  Apparently one of the two had a foul temperament, but she couldn’t keep straight which one of them it was, so she was constantly getting swatted at.  She offered up the thin white scars running up and down her arms as proof that she wasn’t making it up.  _Because_ obviously _people make these things up all the time_ , he thought sarcastically.  Levi suspected the large orange tabby was Sawney because as soon as they’d walked in the cat had been hissing and spatting at them nonstop.  Particularly at Eren, which didn’t surprise him in the least. 

She talked about the peculiar habits of her neighbors, one of which liked to run through her sprinklers when they came on in the evening thinking she wouldn’t notice; yeah, she did notice.  In fact, she told all the girls at card night, so half the town knew about it.  No one told him though, so the poor guy to this day thought he was getting away with it.  Currently in the conversation she was telling them about a newcomer to her church group who was always trying to one up everybody.  They’d been there for almost three hours.  Three _fucking_ never-going-to-get-them-back hours!  Levi was a patient man, but this was too much even for him.  He was just about to interrupt her story when Eren beat him to the punch.

“Ms. Pixis, may I please use your restroom?”

He sounded so polite and even smiled warmly at the old lady.  Levi was genuinely surprised.

“Of course dear,” she said smiling up at him sweetly.  Levi wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol in her system or if she was always like that, but it seemed to him that her smile held a bit of contempt.  “It’s the last door down the hall on your left.”

He smiled a thank you, before getting up and walking away.

_Damn!  He managed to escape._

Levi cursed his luck at being stuck there alone now, but decided it was the perfect time to act thanks to the brat’s distraction.

“Ms. Pixis,” he started as politely as he was able. 

“Oh, come now,” she drawled.  “You’re my niece’s best friend!  Call me Dottie.”

“Um, ok…Dottie,” Levi started over, though he didn’t feel anywhere near comfortable enough to be addressing her so.  “When we spoke over the phone I mentioned that I was hoping to discuss your niece’s situation.  I believe her being put away is a mistake.  I mean, Hanji’s a bit weird…”  Dot widened her eyes and gave him a knowing look.  “Ok, she’s a LOT weird,” he corrected himself.  “But I don’t think she’s _crazy.._.”  This earned him another look from the old lady, one that said she’d beg to differ.  “Ok, she is-” Levi relented.   “But not enough to require her being locked up.  We were hoping we could count on your help in getting her released.”

Dot picked up her tumbler and swirled its alcoholic content with one hand while resting her cheek on the other.  Levi felt like he was being sized up the way she was gazing at him.

She let out a long sigh and took an equally long sip before answering him.

“Sugar, I know you feel you are in the right when it comes to my niece.  And you _are_ right- in that you _feel_ that way.   You are her best friend after all!  Don’t take this the wrong way, but…”

Levi tensed for the rejection he could feel coming.  Sure enough Dot did not disappoint.

“This is a family matter, and as Hanji’s _only_ family, I believe we need to leave these kinds of decisions to the professionals.  Now, I have spoken to Dr. Thomas on many occasions and he seems more than capable.  He assures me Hanji is in the best environment for her condition and is getting the best possible care.”

Levi schooled his features.  No matter how he felt, he couldn’t let this woman see his frustration.

“Dottie,” he struggled to keep the exasperation out of his voice.  “I’m not doubting the work of the doctors, or even the facility itself.  From what I’ve seen it is the best equipped facility, the caretakers are the most qualified and the doctors are the best in their field.  Quite frankly, if Hanji _were_ in fact in need of such care, it would be the first place I’d consider.  But there’s _nothing_ wrong with her!  Some things she said were taken out of context and the rest is circumstantial.”

 “My!” she chuckled.  “Such fancy words.”

Levi finally released that breath of annoyance he had been struggling to keep back all afternoon.  She wasn’t going to help them, and that was all there was to it.  She’d probably never intended to help them at all and only agreed to meet with them for some company.

“Dr. Thomas went to Harvard, sweetie,” she announced condescendingly.  “His track record is impeccable.  It is my firm belief that Hanji is in the best possible hands.  If anyone will bring reason back to that foolish child, it will be him.  I just know it!”

Levi gave a defeated smile.  “Yes, ma’m.”

She smiled smugly before leaning in, blurted out, “He’s also handsome!” and broke out into a fit of giggles.

_Oh, good fucking god!_

Levi almost lost the battle to keep his eyes from rolling.

They both jumped out of their seats when they heard the sudden screeching of a cat and crashing objects.  The yowling and hissing that followed seemed to be coming from the living room, so they headed directly there.  Levi prayed it was just the cats fighting and that Eren was somehow miraculously not involved.  Sadly, his prayers were not answered.  The fat orange tabby, Sawney, was perched atop one of the couches, having knocked the doily to the floor, back arched and savagely hissing at an annoyed looking Eren.  Eren was trying to keep Sawney from knocking more figurines off the sofa table than had already been lost.

“Eren!” Levi yelled.  The boy jerked his face around looking at Levi with a helpless expression, but Levi just glared angrily at him.  “What are you doing to that poor cat?!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Eren claimed defensively.  “He just attacked me for no reason!  I swear!”

Hanji’s aunt had disappeared into one of the rooms.  Her voice was muffled, but they still could hear her when she said, “I _knew_ something was off about you,” it sounded like she was moving things around in there.  Levi had an uneasy feeling about the situation.  “Animals can always tell, you know.”

Levi panicked.  “I’m not sure what you mean,” he said nervously.  “I’m sorry about the mess, Dottie.  Eren will be more than happy to clean it up and of course he will pay to replace anything dama-”

“It was nice to have some company, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave now,” she sounded closer now.  He determined she must be coming down the hall towards them.  “You two have some nerve trying to tell me how to handle my own family affairs!”  She walked into view and to Levi’s horror she had a shotgun cocked on her shoulder, aimed directly at them.  “Go on!” she motioned towards the front door.  “Unless you _like_ the feel of rock salt burning into your skin.”

Eren moved to stand in front of him so fast Levi barely had time to register the action.

“I won’t let you hurt him!” he growled.

Levi saw Dot tense up, her trigger finger twitching nervously.  He grabbed Eren’s arm to focus the boy on him.

“Calm down,” he whispered.  “It’s only rock salt!”  Then he spoke to Ms. Pixis.   “We’re going to leave now, Dottie.  I’ll just look up the price of your collectibles and send you a check.  I apologize for the brat’s behavior.”

This didn’t calm her down one bit.  He got the sense that she wasn’t even paying attention to him.

“Just what kind of friend do you have there, exactly?” she asked suspiciously.  “He has the eyes of a rabid coon!  Do you think I wouldn’t shoot?  Don’t bet on it, son.”  She angled her gun and fired a warning shot to the ceiling above them.  Levi jumped at the noise.  Eren didn’t budge.  Bits of the ceiling cascaded to the floor just in front of them.   “I have no qualms about shooting critters- bunch of thieves and tricksters that they are!”

Levi yanked Eren’s arm and led him to the front door. 

“We’ll just be leaving now,” Levi flashed her nervous smile.  “Thank you for lunch, Dottie.  The chicken salad you used for your sandwiches is amazing.”

Dot’s face lit up with the compliment.  “Why thank you!” she smiled warmly.  “That is so nice of you to say, sweetie.  Please do come back and visit me again.”  She shot a glance at Eren, crinkled her nose in disgust, then turned back to Levi.  “Just you, though.”

 

* * * * *

 

“What the hell went on in there?”  Levi demanded to know as soon as they were around the corner of Dottie’s block and headed towards the bus stop.

“I didn’t _do_ anything Levi, I promise!” he said defensively.

Levi came to an abrupt halt and turned to face Eren.

“Ok, tell me the cat’s behavior had _nothing_ to do with you,” he challenged.

Eren’s eyes widened.  He looked around nervously, trying to find something convincing to say.  In the end, he just sighed and muttered, “Shit.”

Levi moved to smack him upside the head causing the boy to flinch.  Instead, Levi grabbed him by the ear and pulled him down to his eye level. 

“Ow!  Ow!” he protested.  “Levi, let me go!  I’m an adult damnit!”

“Tell me everything, stupid brat,” he said menacingly.  “And you said you’re a teenager still, so your argument is null and void!”

 He let the boy go so he could carry on with the details.  Eren rubbed his ear, giving Levi a reproachful look.  Levi ignored the look and glared impatiently.

“Ok, I really didn’t do anything,” he started.

“But…” Levi prodded.

Eren sighed heavily before revealing, “Sawney’s not a cat.”

Levi blinked.

“He’s a human, a man.  He got turned into a cat by a vengeful witch.  Apparently, they were dating, but he didn’t know she was a witch, and well… he was trying to have his cake and eat it too.”

“Does he know what you are?”

“Yes.  Animals normally are more attuned to our kind, so now that he’s a cat he can definitely tell.”  He scratched his ear absentmindedly as he continued.  “He wants me to change him back.  I said no.  He got pissed.”

He shrugged helplessly.

“Can you do it?”

“Huh?”

“Can you change him back?”

Eren stared at empty space for a moment while he decided how to answer this one.

“I told him I couldn’t…” he wouldn’t look Levi in the eye.  “It’s more like…I don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to?” Levi was outraged.  “Ok, I get it.  You’re a demon, you’re evil or whatever.”

“You know it’s not that!”

“Then what?  Ok, he was wrong in what he did, but he didn’t deserve that kind of punishment!  If you can help someone, why wouldn’t you?”

Eren ran his fingers through his hair visibly frustrated. 

“What kind of a shitty job would I be doing protecting you if I ran around doing things like that?!”

Levi grabbed Eren by his shirt collar.  “Listen here,” he barked.  “You said something like that last night, but I _don’t_ remember you explaining it before, ok?  I need you to tell me now!  Or would you prefer I ask Ymir?”

“No!” he pleaded.  “I’ll tell you!  I’ll tell you.” 

Levi let him go.

Eren took a moment to mentally prepare what he was going to say.

“Ok, I did tell you this before, just for the record.”

“Quit stalling, brat!”

“All right,” he took a deep breath.  “For the most part our worlds are separate and we go about our lives not knowing about one another.  Most people think of the two worlds as being far apart from each other, safely divided by who knows what.  It doesn’t matter, cause that’s not the case.  The dimensions are parallel and sometimes events in one sphere affect the other.  Humans go most of their lives unnoticed by demons only in that they do not attract attention to themselves.  Sometimes a human will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and unfortunately get caught up in demon dealings.  That’s just unlucky.  Sometimes though, a human will be foolish enough to deal in demon magic not knowing the consequences of their actions.”

He paused here to arch an eyebrow at Levi, which the shorter man ignored.

“When magic occurs in the human world, it is felt as a disturbance on the other side.  The strength of the disturbance is directly proportional to the power level of magic being used.  Nature goes mostly unnoticed, barely making a blip.  The magic of beings still considered mostly human such as witches is stronger, white magic being the closest to nature is also mostly undetected while dark magic registers heavily and is always noticed.  Demon magic!  Ah how can I describe this?  If nature and white magic are like little sparks, not even embers; black magic is like sending out a flare going ‘look at me!’  Then there’s demon magic…demon magic is like your own fucking Fourth of July!  And whoever was unfortunate enough to call attention to themselves, better have the guns to back it up because, guess what, you just got noticed.  You just got noticed _big time_!”

Levi felt slightly faint.  “Events in this world affect the other… does it work the other way around?” 

“Yes.  You know how people are afraid of lightning and thunderstorms?  Yeah, they damn well should be.  If you ever see that, just know that there is some crazy shit going on on the other side.  Stay indoors at all costs, you do not want to get caught up in that!”

Levi felt his knees go wobbly.  He walked over to the curb and sat down slowly, trying to hide the fact that he was slightly kind of freaking the hell out.

“Levi, you don’t look so good.  Are you all right?” he heard Eren say behind him, but he sounded far away.

His heart almost leapt out of his chest when a car screeched to a halt in front of him and blared his horn.

It was that asshole Jean! 

He’d offered to pick them up, a fact that Eren had not mentioned.  Marco was noticeably not with him.

 

* * * * *

 

Once they got back to the condo, Levi lay down on the couch for a bit to gather his bearings.  Jean and Eren were in the kitchen having a couple of beers and talking animatedly about the concert last night.   At one point, Eren showed Jean the various bruises he’d gotten.  Jean fawned over them and over Eren in general.  Or so it seemed to Levi.  When Jean traced the bruises with his finger, Levi found himself wanting to run over there and cut his fucking arm off.

_Whoah, where did that come from?_

That jolted him out of his thoughts.  He closed his eyes to examine what was going on internally.  He was tense, angry for some reason and he found it hard to breathe.  Where the hell had this come from?  Why was he feeling so possessive over the brat? 

_Oh fuck._

Levi sat up and rubbed his temples in an effort to calm down.  Eren got up to use the restroom, which left Jean wandering over to sit by him on the couch. 

“Hey, Levi,” he sounded awkward.  “Can I ask you something?”

_No, fuck you!_

“Sure.”

“I know Eren’s _staying_ here…”

Was he blushing?!

“But are you two, you know…” his face was flushing intensely now.  “Together?”

He was smiling like a doofus, and it was fucking adorable.  Levi wanted to punch him in the face so badly.

 

But…

 

What would Eren want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kids have had enough fun, it's time for some conflict.


	11. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Hanji!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm sorry?

* * *

 

Levi didn’t know Hanji as long as he’d known Petra.  Though he thought of Petra as family, sometimes you needed someone outside of the family to speak to about personal problems.  That’s what Hanji was to him.  She was his best friend and most trusted confidant.  It was hard to believe considering he couldn’t stand her at first. 

They met in eighth grade Biology where they ended up being lab partners for a dissection because no one else wanted to pair up with the school weirdos.  He didn’t mind working with the messy ponytailed girl because Hanji was fanatical about science and he figured this would be an easy A for him.  Things didn’t go quite as well as he planned when they were handed their dearly departed frog lying unceremoniously deceased on a plain metal tray.  Levi had turned up his nose at the stench of formaldehyde, but otherwise just handed Hanji the scalpel and readied to jot down their observations. 

Much to his dismay Hanji had taken one look at the contents of the tray, furrowed her brow, picked up the poor amphibian carcass, raised it high above her head for everyone to see and yelled at the top of her lungs, “THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!”

She hadn’t even pulled on her gloves yet, Levi noticed in disgust.

Their teacher didn’t seem surprised at all by the disruption.  He sighed impatiently sending his eyes to the ceiling imploring whatever god there may be to take him away from this hellhole before barking, “Don’t tell me you’re one of those animal rights activists, Zoe?!”

She blinked at him in confusion muttering, “Animal… _rights_?” she asked as if the idea were foreign to her, which it may have been.  “Nah, that has nothing to do with it.  But how am I supposed to study this specimen fully if it’s already dead, sir?”

The teacher gawked at her speechless for a moment before sputtering, “You-you wanted it still alive?!”  His eyes were so wide they were bugging out of his face.

Those in the class who had not stopped to listen were now silenced by their classmates.  Not a word was uttered as the teacher continued. 

“Does that mean you planned on killing it… _yourself_?!”

Some of the students were staring at her with a horrified expression, some were grossed out and covering their mouths in an attempt not to vomit their lunches. 

Hanji took a moment to consider his words.  The teacher thought he had made her come to her senses, until she declared, “Well, I hadn’t _planned_ on it,” she reasoned.  “But, let’s face it, these things happen, right?  I mean, there’s no way to know until it actually happens.  That’s what makes it so interesting!  Also, this one is dead anyway, so what does it matter who killed it?”  

She grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of her head.  Even Levi was speechless as he took in the half crazed expression of his lab partner, her glasses gleaming with evil intent.

Hanji noted everyone’s apparent horror and took on an offended attitude.  “What?  The only thing we can do with this empty shell is dissect it to look at its stupid organs.”

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING!” their teacher had yelled in frustration.

“Huh?” she’d uttered with disbelief.  “That’s boring!  I could do that at home.”

And with that statement Hanji was left to do just that.  She was suspended for two days to think over what had occurred and why it was wrong.  She had to write an essay on ethics to top it off. 

Levi would have found this funny, if it hadn’t been for the simple fact that he had gotten the same freaking punishment just for being her partner!  They were both given a failing grade for the assignment pending their essays.  He was livid and had argued with the teacher for almost an hour before he was sent to the principal’s office.

“Stupid four eyes, this is all your fault!” he had yelled.

She wasn’t the least affected by his hostility.  “Meh, writing the essay will be easy.  It’s not like I have to mean it,” she’d replied.  “If you want you can come over and I’ll help you write yours.”

“No way,” he’d scoffed.  “I have better things to do than hang out with your ass, shit for brains!”

He stalked away angrily and vowed to avoid her forever.

He’d spent those two days in the town’s arcade, pretending to go to school because there was no way he was going to tell his grandfather.  Most of the time, he didn’t care enough to thoroughly check anything regarding him anyway.  He always managed to delete phone messages and intercept mail having to do with school.  He had also mastered the art of forging signatures, so, needless to say it was never brought up.

Hanji had different ideas though.  After that day, she made it her life goal to get on his good side.  She would constantly try to start conversations with him, which mostly ended in him telling her to get lost.  She never took his insults personally, she was always cheerful in her persistence to gain his friendship.  Even though their conversations were sporadic and fragmented at best, Levi noticed she actually paid attention to the things he said, like the fact that he hated maraschino cherries.  Heck, she would even remember things he said he hated but in reality did not, like dark chocolate.  Somehow she could tell he’d been lying.  He couldn’t even remember why he’d said that in the first place.  Probably just to be a dick.  She would also sometimes bring extra snacks in her lunch for him and he noticed it was always things she knew he liked.  He knew those snacks weren’t really “extra,” she didn’t even like green tea ginger ale.  It surprised him to realize that he knew such a fact about her.  Somehow he’d gotten to know her without meaning to.

In the spring that year, Hanji missed school for a full week.  Though Levi tried to act like he didn’t care, after the second day he found he missed her terribly.  She was like the white noise in the background of his life and it was driving him crazy not to have her there.  He went to visit her after school the third day, bringing along some chicken soup he picked up at a sandwich shop along the way.   Her parents had been surprised that she had a visitor and welcomed him in, saying she was fine now and could probably use the company.  Hanji had beamed with happiness when he entered her room.  It made him slightly uncomfortable, as he was not used to anyone _wanting_ let alone enjoying his presence.  He would never forget that.

After that day, he started hanging out with her on a regular basis.  The kids at school marveled at their weird friendship.  His reserved, outwardly hostile demeanor never changed.  It was a stark contrast to her loquacious, inquisitive nature.   Hanji had a normal home life with parents that clearly adored her.  They made Levi feel welcome in their home, like he belonged there.  It took him a while to get used to it.  Being there with them lifted a tension from his shoulders he never realized he’d been carrying.  The crackbrained girl herself had a calming effect on him that no one else had ever managed.  He found it infinitely ironic that the craziest person he knew was the only one keeping him sane.

 

* * * * *

 

Levi glared at the car with secret longing as the salesman went on and on about what a great engine it had, and what a great value he would be getting.  He could care less.  He’d researched cars enough to know what he wanted, so the only thing left to sway him was the price they could offer him.  He’d spent a great deal of time convincing himself that it was a sound decision.  Totally not an impulsive buy at all.  Sure, it could go fast, but only if one was irresponsible.  He was a practical man, he could handle it.  Besides, he’d worked extra long hours the past couple of weeks just to be able to afford the thing.  He deserved a reward for that, right?  If he was working himself into an early grave, he wanted to arrive at death’s door in style, damnit.

He gave an almost unnoticeable smile when the salesman finally gave him the only piece of information he needed.  It was near enough what he wanted to pay to be acceptable.  The salesman shook his hand animatedly when he said he’d take it, relief evident in his voice.  He’d clearly been afraid of the deal falling through.  Levi only had one thought running through his mind as he stared again at what would soon be his beautiful monsoon gray Audi A4. 

He would never be forced to accept a ride from Jean fucking Kirchstein ever again! 

Ever!

In truth he’d made the decision when that ass had picked them up and took ten years off his life with his horn blaring antics.  He’d already been planning on making the purchase, he just hadn’t saved enough money yet.  There was no way he was going to be able to afford a big car payment on top of his mortgage, so he took on extra work.  Now they had the pressing issue of putting Eren’s plan into effect, which required Levi getting a car since Hanji’s aunt would definitely not let them access Hanji’s Jeep. 

And most importantly for Levi’s sanity, the extra work took his mind off a certain stupid teenage demon who was now dating that stupid ass Jean FUCKING Kirchstein, whom he could not stand!  He tried to calm himself down as he drove his new baby, enjoying the feel of the black leather seats, trying not to think about the god awful new car smell he couldn’t stand and smiled when he finally had a real reason to use his garage door opener.  He sighed as he unlocked the garage door and entered his condo.  Eren wouldn’t be there, so at least he didn’t have to tiptoe around him for a few days.  It would be nice to sleep comfortably also, heavens knew he needed it.  He took off his shoes, grabbed a beer from his refrigerator and sat down to watch TV.  He wasn’t really “watching,” he just needed the background noise while his mind wandered back to “that day”.

 

* * * * *

 

That day he’d decided that Eren was an adult and could make his own decisions, so he’d told Jean that they weren’t together.  When Jean asked him if he minded him making a move, he’d replied that Eren was free to do as he wished.  Not that he was full of himself or anything, but he had honestly thought the kid had feelings for him, so he was kind of feeling sorry for Jean thinking he would surely get rejected.   Imagine his fucking surprise when Jean asked him out and stupid Eren had said yes without hesitation!  He didn’t even take time to think about it, didn’t even look at Levi once to see how it might affect him, he’d just rushed into the relationship without a fucking care in the world.  Jean had been elated, they’d marched out euphorically (maybe he was bitter and exaggerating here) and he was left in shock wondering if he hadn’t fabricated everything in his mind.

His natural response to that?  He’d gotten drunk off his ass again, of course.  When Eren had gotten home he’d acted like a concerned mother hen and tried to get food and water into Levi to get him sober.  Levi had brushed him off angrily, called him a liar and probably a lot of other names Eren didn’t appreciate.  He’d woken up the next morning on the bathroom floor.  At least he had a pillow to cushion his head (he made a mental note to throw the disgusting thing out).  Eren was sleeping in the hallway, hugging a pillow. He woke up when he heard Levi stirring, muttered something about getting him to bed and when he moved to scoop him up, Levi lost it.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

He hadn’t intended to be so harsh, but once it was out there he couldn’t take it back.  

Eren froze, his expression a combination of hurt and confusion.

Levi rubbed his throbbing temples and tried to focus on his breathing.  He knew it was normal to feel this way.   He was jealous and feeling rejected... yet again.  Rejected _again_.  Wonderful!  He felt like such a fucking joke.  Of course Eren wouldn’t want him.  Why would he?

“I’m sorry,” he said more calmly.  “I didn’t mean to be a dick.  I just…I just need some time to myself.  I’m sorry.”

Eren looked perplexed at this statement and after mulling it over for a moment asked, “Levi?  Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Levi said with a defeated sigh.  “You didn’t do anything wrong Eren.  It’s just… personal stuff.”

“Ok,” he’d said unconvinced.

Levi had taken on extra projects with the excuse of needing the car.  Eren offered to pay for it, but Levi wouldn’t hear of it.  He would pay for it himself or not get one at all.  He wondered how Eren even had money, but decided he could ask another time.  Eren spent the days with his friends and his new boyfriend while Levi worked into the wee hours of the morning nearly every day.  On the days when he actually had some down time, he used it to sleep because he was in desperate need of it.  He looked horrible, with dark circles under his eyes and he knew it but couldn’t bring himself to care.  He locked himself away in his office so Eren wouldn’t be able to move him around at night if he happened to fall asleep.  Eren had moved the couch closer to the office and slept there.  He didn’t say anything about it though.  Levi knew he was still upset about the other day, but didn’t make any attempt to talk about it.

All in all, they had hardly seen each other even though they lived under the same roof.  Eren did make attempts at conversation, but Levi only half listened.  He was really not interested in hearing about what he and that douche were up to, so he tuned him out.  It wasn’t hard, he was exhausted beyond belief and sleep deprivation didn’t allow him to focus on anything for very long.  He kept hoping Eren would give up trying to be his friend and would just move in with Jean instead.  Eren eventually gave up trying to keep up conversations and only spoke to him briefly about things he felt were necessary.  Levi noticed that he seemed tense and melancholy. 

He kind of felt bad, but still he didn’t make any attempt to talk about it. 

 

* * * * *

 

“Well, hello sweetie!” Dot Pixis purred when Levi opened his door.

“How are you Dottie?” he asked politely ushering her into his living room.

“I am finer than this gorgeous day we are having!” she exclaimed with way too much perkiness for his liking. 

 “Good to hear,” he smiled.  “You look wonderful today.  Got all dressed up for the occasion?”

“Of course, you smooth talker, you!” she giggled.

She was wearing a baby blue blue seersucker dress with a red rose pattern, white gloves like she was going to church and a matching sun hat.  Levi wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but he supposed someone her age would think so.

“You got everything we need?” he asked as pulled on his blazer and grabbed his suitcase.

 “Got it right here!” she patted her purse. 

“Well then,” he opened his garage door.  “Let’s get this show on the road.”

 

…

 

An hour later they were at the Sister Rose Institution for the Criminally Insane waiting in the lobby for Hanji.  Her doctor had finally approved her release and Dottie had signed all the necessary forms.  They were just waiting for Hanji to have her final session with the staff psychiatrist and then she would be released into her aunt’s care for a while until they deemed her capable of being completely on her own again. 

When Hanji was brought out by a nurse the first thing she did was smile widely at Levi, which he returned whole heartedly.  She was dressed comfortably in grey sweat pants, a light blue t-shirt and cream colored cardigan.  It seemed everything would go smoothly until her eyes landed on Dottie.  Her face contorted into confusion.  She looked back at Levi with questions in her eyes.  He pressed his lips together and shook his head slightly, hoping she would understand he meant for her not to say anything.  She seemed confused about his behavior, but complied.

The nurse walked over to them, leaving Hanji in the care of an orderly.

“I must say, I was a little shocked the NSA dropped their charges against this one,” the nurse, Hannah, said playfully.  Levi mentally gagged at her false show of friendliness.  “That _never_ happens to my knowledge.  She’s one lucky girl!”

“It was such a negligible amount, and they needed the positive press considering all the negative publicity they’ve been getting lately.”  Levi lied smoothly. 

“True,” she said before turning to Hanji’s aunt.  “Ok, here are the discharge papers.  Just remember to keep all her appointments, keep her on all her meds and everything should be fine.”

“Of course, honey,” Dottie smiled sweetly.   “Dr. Thomas knows how insistent I am about her getting the proper care.  I will make sure she complies with everything here to the letter!”

Nurse Hannah beamed at Dottie and Hanji’s aunt reflected that same smile right back at her.  Levi thought happy thoughts in an effort not to strangle both of them.

“Good, please see that she does,” she said cheerfully before leaning in to speak more quietly.  “And if for any reason you feel she might need more treatment, please let us know _immediately_.”

“Of course,” Dottie replied.  “I’ve always been in constant contact with Dr. Thomas.  Though, the sneaky devil still won’t spill the beans on his relationship status.”

“Dottie!” Levi exclaimed with surprise.  Nurse Hannah only giggled.

“What, honey?” she replied innocently.  “There isn’t a ring on that finger as far as I’ve seen, so he’s fair game!  Right?”  She winked mischievously at the nurse while Levi struggled to keep his face from flushing with embarrassment.

“All right you guys, I’ll bring Hanji over now and then you are free to go.”

They both thanked her and then Hanji was escorted over to them.  She made a big show of giving her aunt Dottie a hug and thank you before hurling herself into Levi’s arms almost making him lose his balance.  He hugged her back tightly and then motioned for them to leave.  He wanted to grab her and run away from this place.  Run as fast he could and hide her away so they would never be able to find her again.  But he knew that would not be wise.  He acted as coolly and calmly as he could while he walked casually towards the exit.

The girls walked in front of him, Dottie holding onto Hanji’s arm as if for support.  Hanji just kept staring at Dottie with obvious curiosity. 

They were almost out the door when Hanji suddenly declared, “Levi!  Who is this?” meaning Dottie. 

Levi froze in horror, the nurses behind him had heard and they were waiting for his answer.  If he had to explain to Hanji that this was her aunt, they would take her back for sure.  He felt dizzy as the anxiety sucked away his oxygen.

“No honey,” Dottie answered her.  “This is a stranger.  You are not expected to know them.”

Dottie motioned to a man who just happened to be walking in at the same time as they were leaving.

“Oh,” Hanji said.  “Right.”

“It’s ok, sweetie,” Dottie reassured her, patting her hand.  “You just need some time to adjust.”

Levi took a breath of relief as they finally got outside.

 

…

 

Once they were on the road, Hanji persisted.  “Ok, I know this is _not_ my aunt Dot,” she chuckled.  “Levi, not to be unappreciative or anything, but what is going on?”

“Damnit Hanji!” he barked.  “You almost messed it up!”

“What?” she frowned.    “Aw, I’m sorry.  But how was I supposed to know?”

He curled his hand into a fist in frustration.  “You’re _not_ supposed to know.  That’s how this works Hanji.  If you knew you’d probably just mess it up, dumbass.”

“You’re probably right!” she cackled hysterically.  Levi cursed under his breath.  “Well thank you for getting me out, anyway!  I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen to be honest.  But I knew if anyone could do it, you could.  As usual, you didn’t disappoint.”

“I have to admit, I didn’t really get your clues until someone pointed them out to me,” he confessed.  “I still don’t understand the magazine and the junior mints though.”

“Oh, that had nothing to do with getting me out,” she said matter of factly.  “I just wanted you to see the feature spread.  I mean, he _is_ freaking gorgeous Levi!  You have to admit that much!”

“What?  Who?!”

“Tom Hiddleston, dummy!” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  “He was _barely clothed_ for god’s sake!”

Dottie cracked up beside him in the passenger seat. 

“Ok, fine.  I didn’t really look inside.  But what about the junior mints?”

“Well, if you had opened the magazine like you were supposed to it would have been obvious!” she rolled her eyes at him.  “You can’t look at something _that_ delicious and not crave something sweet.  Whew!”

Dottie laughed even harder. 

“Oh my god, Hanji you are the worst!” he declared with a laugh.

Levi smiled at her via the rear view mirror.  Hanji smiled back, then she leaned forward and hugged Dottie, making the poor woman jump in her seat.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for doing this!” she exclaimed.  “Also, Levi’s not the easiest person to work with, so I’m not sure how he managed to get you to help him.  Thank you extra for putting up with him!”

Dottie smiled, “It’s no sweat.”

Hanji inched closer to Dottie’s ear and pretended to whisper, “If he promised you sex, then I gotta tell you now, _he lied_!  Make him give you cash instead.  He’s kinda gay!”

Levi swerved with the frustration he felt at his inability to do anything about his friend’s antics. 

“Dammit Hanji!  Are you even wearing your freaking seat belt?!”

The women laughed at his frustration, then Dottie pretended to whisper back.

“Kinda?  Nah, I think you mean _hella_!”

“Oh good, so you know.  As long as it’s fair!”

“I am _not_ selling sexual favors!” Levi huffed indignantly.

This made the women break out into another round of hysterical laughter.  He felt his face heat up and ignored them the rest of the way home.

 

…

 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into his garage.  Hanji and Dottie seemed to have become best friends instantaneously.  They talked the whole way about random things, which Levi had only half listened to.  He was home now and he was nervous.  His stomach twisted uneasily since he didn’t know exactly what he was coming home to.    

He opened the garage door and ushered the two women into his living room.  He closed the door and almost ran into them, since he hadn’t expected they’d come to a sudden halt right in front of him.

“Levi?” Hanji asked nervously.  “What’s going on here?”

Dr. Thomas got up from the couch he’d been sitting casually on and walked over to where they stood.

 

“Well, well,” he said smugly.  “You really thought you could get away with this, didn’t you?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil laughter in the background...


	12. Resolution and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's plan is revealed. Then the boys go to the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It all sounds so innocent. ha ha ha

 

* * *

 

Dottie walked straight up to Dr. Thomas and flicked his ear.

“Ow!”

“Shut the fuck up nerd!” she hissed.  “What in hell’s name are you still doing with this meat puppet, anyway?”

Dr. Thomas burst out laughing.  “I’m sorry!  I just wanted to see your faces!”

She glared at him unamused for a moment before sighing heavily.  “Remind me why we’re friends again?”

Giving him no time to answer, she shoved him aside, removed her hat, gloves and tossed them onto the coffee table along with her purse before letting herself drop on the couch.

Levi shook his head and walked past them straight to the kitchen area to fix himself a drink.

“Anybody else feel like a drink?” he offered politely.  Dottie’s arm shot up almost before he even finished the sentence.

He noticed Hanji was still frozen to her spot, eyes wide with confusion.  He was just about to address her when she was attacked by Dr. Thomas’ bear hug.

“I can’t believe you’re finally here!” he exclaimed joyously.  “I missed you so much!”

“Wh-what?” Hanji asked clearly bewildered.

“Hanji, you remember Eren,” Levi said simply, in lieu of an actual explanation.

Hanji stared at the doctor for a moment, trying to process what Levi had just told her before shrieking like a banshee.  “Oh my god!” she grabbed his shirt collar to bring his face closer for inspection.  ‘Dr. Thomas’ smiled back stupidly at her.  “ _Oh my god_!  Is this really you Eren?!”

She ran her hand across his face, brushed back his blonde hair, pinched his cheek and almost got a hold of his nose before he batted her hand away.

“Well…” his face scrunched up in confusion.  “Kind of?” he shrugged.

“It totally is you!” she cried joyously jumping up and down then wrapped her arms around him in a hug of her own.  Upon releasing him, she punched him squarely in the shoulder and none too gently at that.

“Ow!”

“You scared the ever loving shit out of me, you jerk!” she scolded.  “I thought I was going to be dragged back to that prison!”  She walked over to the recliner and plopped down with a loud “Ahhh…!”

“You’re _welcome_ ,” Eren huffed.  “Hey, this actually hurts!” he declared rubbing his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah…” Hanji waved him off.  “Levi!  Whatever you’re making over there- make mine a _double_!”

“Stupid weak meat bodies…” Eren mumbled to himself.

Levi brought over a tray of mojitos that earned him a couple of excited ‘oohs’ from the girls as soon as they were in view.  Krista had been kind enough to teach him how to mix them.  The way she prepared them made them almost as dangerous as a long island iced tea.  They tasted light and refreshing, innocent enough.  But after just one drink your head was already spinning.  Worst of all they made you really thirsty.  It was a vicious cycle.  He set them down on the coffee table so everyone could grab one, then sat down next to Dottie.  Eren grabbed a chair and sat next to Hanji.

After everyone was situated and had a drink in their hand, Levi raised his glass and declared a toast to Hanji.  They all cheered, “to Hanji!” raised their glasses and clinked them together before taking a long sip.

“Congratulations!” Dottie hollered.

“Welcome back!” Eren beamed.

“Don’t buy illegal shit again, stupid ass!” Levi smirked.

“Aw… you guys…”  Hanji actually teared up, making Levi roll his eyes (though he did smile a little).

 

* * * * *

 

The moon hung large and full overhead in the night sky making it easier to see.  Unfortunately for him, this would also make it easier for him to _be_ seen.  He would have to be extra careful.

The sprinklers came on like clockwork. 

_Perfect_ , Eren thought as poofed himself inside Dottie’s house.  Hanji’s aunt would be too busy spying on her weird ass neighbor to notice that he was there.  He didn’t bother to go further than her kitchen since he knew the little orange menace would sense him quickly and find him effortlessly.  He crouched down into a sitting position.  All he had to do was wait.

Sure enough, within a few minutes he heard the clickety clacking of tiny claws against the tile floor.  Sawney came into view and froze upon seeing him.  Almost instantaneously, he was baring his teeth, back arched, fur standing on end, ears pulled back and ready to attack. 

The demon put his hands up defensively and whispered as quickly as he could, “I’ll do it!”

The feline relaxed slowly, eyeing him warily as if urging him to proceed.

“Yes,” he said.  “I’ll turn you back into a human.”

Sawney narrowed his eyes at him.  His tail was jerking wildly behind him.

“Ok, I promise!” Eren rolled his eyes.  “It won’t be me directly though.”

The cat spat at him, ears pulled back once more.

“Oh, you will like this better,” Eren grinned.  Sawney cocked his head.  “You know it should ideally be undone by another of the same kind.”

The tabby’s tail shot straight up, eyes widening.  The demon knew he had the animal’s full attention now.

“That’s right.  I have a friend who can help us both,” Sawney started to purr loudly, seemed to realize what he was doing and looked away refusing to face the demon.  Eren knew it irritated him because it was involuntary.  The cat would have preferred to hide the fact that he was pleased.  In a way, it kind of reminded him of Levi.  Ignoring the sudden ache in his chest, the boy proceeded with the arrangements.  “I will need something in return, though.”

Sawney narrowed his eyes at him again. 

“It’s not that big a deal, really,” he started.  The cat cocked his head.  “I will be coming to visit Dottie a few times.  It’s to help out a friend of mine.  I need to you to act like nothing, _absolutely nothing_ is wrong or out of place.  Can you do that?”

Sawney lifted his paw and ran it over his ear.  Eren assumed this meant he agreed.

“Good!” he exclaimed.  “I also have some friends that will be visiting.  One of them is just a regular human.  You’ll really like her, actually; she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met!  My other friend you will notice is definitely… _not_ so regular.  I’ll need you to leave her alone as well.”

The tabby narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion.

“Oh, trust me,” Eren assured him.  “It is in your best interest that this works out.  She’s the one who will be doing you the honor after all.”

The cat flicked his ears a couple of times to think it over.  Then he rolled over onto his back, limbs in the air and stared up at Eren.  He reached out a paw towards him as a peace offering.

The demon smiled widely.

 

* * * * *

 

“I have been visiting your aunt as the doctor.  She trusts him, and then there’s her gross little crush…” he paused to make a face.  “I’ve also been kind of hypnotizing her-”

“You mean brainwashing her.”

“Maybe,” the demon snickered.  “But it’s necessary, that way in her mind it is perfectly normal and logical that you are home again.” 

Eren was going over the details of his plan with Hanji.  Levi felt proud of the boy.  He honestly had no idea the demon was capable of coming up with something that was low risk and beneficial to everyone.  He felt himself frown as he realized how much he’d missed the kid.   He squashed the thought immediately.  Eren had made his choice, he reminded himself sternly.

“Why couldn’t you just transform like she did?” Hanji asked pointing at Dottie.  “It’s kind of creepy that you actually _are_ Dr. Thomas right now.  Don’t get me wrong, the guy is a brilliant doctor, but he’s _such_ a fucking tool!  He’s seriously got something up his ass- and not in a good way!”  She gasped suddenly, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth.  “Shit!  He’s not going to remember I said that, is he?”

“Pfft!  No,” Dottie chuckled.

“Well, where your aunt is concerned, transforming _would_ have been enough,” Eren conceded.  “But when it came to getting you released, there was just no way!  Possessing him was the only choice we had.”

“Yeah,” Levi added.   “He needed to get inside Dr. Thomas’ head to find out what it took to get you out of that place.  You know, like where to obtain the necessary documentation, how to get the authorization from the correct parties, releases from the proper authorities, etc.  All that legal jazz.”

“Psh!” Eren scoffed.  “Of course, it would have been _way_ faster if Levi had agreed to my original plan.”

Levi rolled his eyes.

“I already told you!  Not only would you have caused irreparable mental damage to the patients legitimately needing of that facility, but also Hanji would have been running from the law the rest of her life!  Is that what you want?”

Eren shrugged.

“I could have dealt with it,” Hanji muttered matter-of-factly.  “Oh, wait!  You were asking _him_!  Ha ha!  Sorry…”

Eren burst out laughing.

Levi glared at her incredulously.

“Oh my god!  I’m going to be sick!” Dottie suddenly declared. 

Levi got off the couch to give her room to breathe.  Her body started to ripple, like it was made of water.  She groaned loudly while her skin stretched then snapped back randomly on different areas of her body.  Her skin color started to darken, and her facial features became more and more distorted.  The wig fell off her head hitting the floor soundlessly, her own hair growing back in slowly.  After a while of agonizing, Ymir sat in place of Dottie on Levi’s couch.  Her hair dark once again, skin tan and face full of freckles.  The much too big seersucker dress hung off her body.  She tried lifting herself off the couch, but her feet were wobbly.

“Wait a minute, Ymir!” Eren exclaimed.  “You need to rest a little.”

“Hell _no_ am I staying in this god awful dress now that I’m back to normal!” she declared with a glare.

“Let me help you then,” Eren said moving towards her.  He yelped when Hanji suddenly shoved him aside and hovered over Ymir excitedly.

“Holy shit!  That was amazing!” she sputtered.  “How do you feel right now?  You are clearly exhibiting signs of exhaustion.  You mentioned feeling sick, too.  Is your stomach still queasy?  How long were you able to keep up the transformation?  Do you mind if I take your temperature?  Levi!  Where’s your first aid kit?!”

Ymir blinked up at her with a frown.

 “Leave her alone, shit for brains,” Levi scolded, crossing his arms.  “You didn’t ask for her consent to study her.”

Hanji backed off with a pout.

“Damnit,” she sighed. 

Eren offered Ymir his arm for support and helped her to the bathroom.  Hanji watched her walk away, full of regret for all the questions she had that would go unanswered.  Sighing heavily she sat back down on the couch by Levi, where they resumed their drinking.

“Levi?” Hanji started uncertainly.

“What?” he asked when he noticed she didn’t continue.

“Is it too soon for me to ask what happened?”

“Hmm?  What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters,” she motioned at her surroundings.  “Who’s place is this?”

“Oh, yeah.  I guess you wouldn’t know,” he sighed.  “This is my new place.  Erwin dumped me for Mike.”

Hanji’s face screwed up into one of disbelief. 

“What the-?!  I mean, I thought-” she tried to formulate a cohesive sentence, but it wasn’t happening.  “I’m sorry,” she finally said.  “Are you all right?  Do you want to talk about it?  I mean, how can they even do this to you?  Mike is your friend.  Hell, he’s _our_ friend.”

She scratched the back of her head in confusion.  “He… _was_ our friend?”

Levi gave a small smile.  “Don’t worry four eyes.  I’m ok to talk about it.”  He heard Eren coming back with Ymir.  “But we can do that in a bit, once Eren and Ymir head off.”

“Ok,” Hanji nodded.  “I’m glad you’re ok.  That’s what matters.”  She gave him a quick hug.

…

Krista stopped by a few moments later for Ymir.  Hanji thanked them both profusely and tried to sneak in questions about how she was feeling now making the situation a little awkward.  Levi was just about to pry her away when Krista stepped in.

“Hanji,” she said timidly.  “Your aunt is such a sweet person!  I feel like I should be the one thanking you for the opportunity to get to know her.”

“Whaaaat?” Hanji asked clearly taken aback.  “Are you sure you have the right person?”

Krista chuckled. 

Ymir rolled her eyes.

“You have no idea!” she exclaimed.  “They bonded immediately.  My little Krista here is now part of your aunt’s card night crew.”

“Whoah!” Hanji clutched her heart.  “That is a sacred club there!  How did you manage _that_?”

“Well, it turns out your aunt and I have a lot in common, so…” she shrugged, pink tinting her cheeks.

Eren shot an amused glance at Ymir.  Krista and Dottie both adored those god forsaken collectibles, loud flower patterns and gossip.  None of that was remotely close to being Ymir’s cup of tea.  She mouthed ‘shut the fuck up!’ at him with a scowl.

Levi sighed at the whole exchange.

 

* * * * *

 

Later that evening, Levi was watching TV getting ready for bed when he heard someone unlocking his front door.  Hanji was already asleep in his bedroom.  He’d given her back the items she’d Fedexed him.  They’d gone over all the details of his and Erwin’s split.  After that day, she would be spending some time at her aunt’s until they got her own house back in order.  Krista and Ymir had left some time ago and Eren was returning Dr. Thomas’ back where he belonged.  He wasn’t expected back until the next day, but it had to be the boy, no one else had a key.  But why would he be back already? 

He sat up and watched as Eren entered and removed his shoes.  Upon noticing that Levi was awake, Eren walked over to the recliner and sat facing Levi.  He was worrying his bottom lip, something clearly on his mind, but he was obviously hesitant to say anything.  Levi cursed inwardly at the butterflies in his stomach.  He tried to act as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting the boy to see that his presence affected him.

“I thought you were going to be out again tonight?” he asked with as much indifference as he could.  “You can take the couch.  I have an old sleeping bag somewhere.”

He got up and fully intended to sleep in his office again, but was cut off.

“I’m not taking the couch from you, Levi.  This is your home, why do I have to keep saying that to you?” Eren bit out, clearly upset.

Levi glared up at him.  “Yes, this _is_ my house, so I can do what I want,” he snapped.  “Is there a problem?”

“Yes,” Eren said softly, his face a mixture of emotions.  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.  I _keep_ trying to talk to you, but you zone out- you shut me out.   You won’t listen to me!  I know you’re mad at me, but I don’t know why.  Please talk to me Levi.”

“I’ve been busy,” Levi said simply, looking away.  It was just an excuse, he knew it.

“Ok, but you’re done with that now, right?” Eren asked hopefully. 

“Yeah,” he conceded.

Eren sighed softly, relief evident in his features. 

“I know it’s been a long day today, and we’re both tired,” he started, uncertainty still in voice.  “The guys invited us to a bonfire at the beach tomorrow.  Will you go with me?”

Levi was confused.  Wouldn’t he be going with Jean?  Maybe that douche couldn’t make it for some reason.

“To talk?”

“Yeah,” Eren smiled hopefully. 

_Damnit_ , Levi cursed inwardly.  He couldn’t say no to those huge sad eyes.

“All right.”

The happiness with which Eren reacted left him feeling guilty.  He had to remind himself that to Eren he was a friend.  He’d been letting his jealousy get in the way of that friendship and reflecting on it, it really wasn’t fair to the demon.  It wasn’t his fault he didn’t return his feelings.  He would just have to get over himself.  He sighed heavily at the thought.  It was always easier said than done.

That night Levi slept on his couch and Eren slept on the floor right next to him. 

Hanji woke up early the next morning to find Eren asleep on the couch with Levi draped over him.  She stifled a chuckle as she tiptoed to the bathroom.

Of course by the time Levi woke up, Eren was already up and making breakfast in the kitchen.

 

* * * * *

 

Though the moon was still full, it was barely visible at times due to the heavy marine layer that would sometimes envelope it, like the ghost of a veil twisting and swirling in the breeze, hiding it away from the world.  The gentle rumble of waves rolling to meet the shore, sometimes crashing violently, sometimes losing their momentum and barely making a gurgle, was constantly heard in the background.  Every now and again a seal could be heard barking in the distance, its calls echoing on the rocky cliffs far away from the fire pits and the humans they were avoiding.  The chilled night air was dense with salt, leaving its scent on everything it touched.  The bonfire burned brightly, like a tiny star caught momentarily by the earth, crackling and hissing in its struggle to get back to the sky.

“I would pick teleportation.  Because then you could go anywhere you want in the world.  You could see all the beautiful architecture and all nature’s wonders.  You wouldn’t have to worry about money, or customs agents or time zones or jet lag!”

Levi rolled his eyes at Armin’s choice. 

Big deal, Eren could already do that.

“You’d still have the language barrier,” Connie said.

“You’d still have to get shots,” Mikasa added.

“Damn!” Armin cursed.

“There are no natural wonders anymore anyway, Armin,” Jean chortled.  “The movies you see are all staged and the pictures are all photoshopped.  They adjust the color to get rid of the smog, to make the water look blue and pristine; they cut out the overpopulation, the pollution that surrounds everything.  Heck, it’s all one big conspiracy by the world’s governments so you don’t notice and actually expect them to do something about it.”

Armin looked horrified by Jean’s statements.  Eren glared at Jean for his insensitivity, to which the tawny haired kid just shrugged a “What?”

So this is where he was now.  Levi sat on one side of Eren while his nemesis, that two tone haired douchebag sat on the other.  Eren was stuffing his face with smores, clearly oblivious to the shorter man’s dilemma.  He was freezing his butt off in his shorts and hoodie despite the fire.  He couldn’t even warm himself up with some of the beer the kids were drinking out of plain plastic cups (so as to go undetected by the police) because he’d driven there. 

Torture.

Fucking torture.  He really must have fucked up in a past life.

“What would you pick Mikasa?” Armin asked.

The girl furrowed her brow to think before declaring darkly, “I’d pick mind control.”

“What?!” Jean blurted out.  “That’s boring!”

Mikasa glared at him. “You wouldn’t say that if I _made you_ not say that.  None of you would ever piss me off again.  Ever.”

Armin rubbed her shoulder to calm her down.  “You don’t really want that.  We’d all be a bunch of mindless robots.”

Levi wondered if Eren could control minds.  Was that the same thing as brainwashing?

“Fine,” she relented.  “So then what would _you_ pick, Jean?” Mikasa asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Jean grinned devilishly before declaring, “Invisibility of course!”

Everyone burst into hysterical laughter.

 “Oh my god,” Mikasa gave him a withering look before she smacked her palm to her forehead.

“What?” Jean asked as innocently as he could pretend to be.

“You would, you pervert!” Connie shouted with glee, then rolled with laughter.

Pfft.  Eren could probably do that too, Levi thought lazily.

“What about you, Levi?”

Levi was so zoned out he almost missed Marco’s question.  The freckled kid was sitting next to Armin, with as much distance possible between him and Jean.  It was pretty obvious to everyone that he was avoiding him, but no one was mean enough to point it out.

Everyone was staring at him intently, waiting for his answer.

“Oh,” Levi thought about it for a moment before answering.  Eren’s black wings suddenly sprang into his mind.  “I would pick flying.”

He didn’t realize he’d smiled dreamily when he’d said it.  The others were stunned into momentary silence.  Levi never smiled, at least not that they’d seen.

“That _would_ be amazing,” Marco agreed.  He smiled letting his eyes drift up towards the stars before adding wistfully.  “You could go as high as you wanted to, see everything and not worry about falling.”

“Exactly,” Levi said smiling warmly at him.  “You’d be truly free, like a bird.”

_Like a stupid black raven_ , his thoughts turned bitter, thinking of the demon next to him.  He took a deep breath feeling exhausted all of a sudden.

“You couldn’t go very far, you’d get tired.”

Speak of the devil.  Levi was surprised at Eren’s snarky comment.  Was he mad at Marco or something?

“I mean, the human body isn’t really made for flying,” he added, shooting a glare at Marco. 

“Well,” Marco shot back, fire blazing in his usually warm honey brown eyes.  “Maybe you couldn’t get very far at first.  But you’d get used to it.  You’d get stronger.  Right, Levi?”

What the fuck? 

Levi cursed internally, wondering how he got caught in the middle of this.

“Well… seeing as how it’s an _imaginary_ super power, I think it’s safe to say you wouldn’t get tired.”

Marco beamed triumphantly while Eren bristled visibly beside him.

“Guys, if one of the stars on Orion’s belt were to go supernova, would his pants fall down?” Connie asked suddenly trying to lighten the mood. 

Everyone burst into a fit of giggles.

Everyone except Eren, that is.  The demon was sulking intensely when Jean suddenly leaned in to whisper something in his ear.  Eren smiled then got up along with Jean announcing that they were going for a walk.  Levi watched as they trudged off slowly into the darkness.  Again, Eren didn’t so much as spare him a look, didn’t even say he’d be right back.  Eren had invited him here.  They were supposed to talk.  They’d arrived together, but as soon as they’d sat down Jean had glued himself to Eren’s side.  They’d barely spoken to each other at all, Jean dominated all Eren’s attention. 

He sighed heavily.  It was times like this that Levi really wished he smoked. 

Marco took that opportunity to sit down next to him.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Seeing the one you like with someone else.”

God, was he that obvious?

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, sorry,” Marco said apologetically.  “I just assumed… you know- from the way you looked at him…”

  
Levi felt his cheeks flush.  Yes, he must be _that_ obvious.  He wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Marco.  And all this time he’d only been concerned about his own feelings.  He hadn’t even thought of the poor freckled kid’s feelings at all.  He was clearly in love with Jean, Levi’d noticed right away since they’d first started hanging out.

“I can’t really blame him, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

Marco hesitated, trying to keep from frowning.  “Well, look at him.  Eren’s just so…”

“No!” Levi cut him off.  “Don’t you dare say that shit, Marco.  Do not sell yourself short!”

Marco stared at him, eyes wide.

“Eren is good looking.  Fine.  But that’s not all there is in a person.  You’re a real catch, ok?  You just don’t know it and that’s where the real problem is.  Jean should feel lucky that you would even look his way, not the other way around.  Does he even know?”

Marco looked terrified.  “Probably not,” he squeaked out.

“Do you guys still hang out?”

“Well, yeah,” he seemed confused by the question.  “We’re still friends, it’s just…”

“And what, you’re going to be the best man at his wedding too?”

Marco looked stricken by this comment.  “No!” he shouted.  Then repeated more quietly, “no.”

“Well, then.  You’ve gotta fight for what you want, kid.”

Marco blushed violently.  He mulled over Levi’s statement for a while before taking on the air of quiet determination.

“Thanks, Levi,” he smiled shyly.

Levi smirked bumping Marco’s shoulder with his own.

“You too, right?”

“Hmm?!”

Marco chuckled.  “You’re going to fight for what you want too, right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Levi huffed, turning away from him. 

Marco laughed at Levi’s obvious embarrassment.

In the end they opted to leave the two stupid idiots to do their thing, whatever that may be.  Levi wasn’t about to hang out waiting for Eren to be done doing god knows what with that long faced jerk.  They said goodbye to everyone, Levi stating he had a lot of work to do still.  Marco said he had a lot of homework to catch up on.  Levi asked Armin if he could give Eren a ride home in case for whatever reason Jean didn’t take him.  Armin agreed and with that weight off his shoulders, Levi and Marco called it a night. 

After he dropped Marco off and was back in his condo, Levi got ready for bed, gathered some snacks and downloaded a movie to watch on his desktop.  He’d said he had a lot of work and he knew that stupid demon would call him on it, so he had to look the part.  He spent the remainder of that night locked in his office with some chips, a sandwich and the Avengers. 

At least, that was his intention.

Halfway into the movie, even though he had his headphones on and the volume pretty high, he heard the front door crash open, then slam shut. 

“Levi!”  He heard Eren yelling. 

What the hell was his problem?

Levi chose to ignore him.  That was not so easy though, when he heard the demon stomp around the condo, first in the living room, then the bedroom and the bathroom. 

“Levi!” he yelled again.

The demon pounded on the office door, then slammed his body into it, opening it by force.

“My door!” he yelled when he saw the demon enter.  “What the FUCK Eren?!”

Eren was breathing heavily, visibly angry about something.  His eyes were glowing intensely, the yellow leaning towards orange then red at times.  Levi gulped.  What the fuck was going on?

 

“WHERE IS HE?!” he growled, barely contained.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late at night again, but I'm sober this time, I promise! (not that it helps)
> 
> Can you feel the tension? I hope you can. Things are heating up!


	13. So, what IS in a kiss?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi have some words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13. 13 is an unlucky number. Maybe you should skip it.

* * *

 

“WHO, Eren?  Where is _who_?!” Levi yelled throwing his hands up in the air with exasperation.

Eren stalked over to where Levi was standing, his glare hostile, stance aggressive.  He stared down at the shorter male searching his face with undisguised scrutiny.  Levi kept his annoyed gaze fixed steadily on the demon’s probing eyes, not backing down in the slightest.  He was just about to tell him to get the fuck out of his office when Eren unexpectedly leaned into him, sniffing his throat.  Levi froze under the apparent inspection.  When the demon looked back up at Levi, his face was scrunched up in confusion but he was not yet satisfied.  His wild eyes travelled around the office, his nose scenting the air like an animal.  When whatever he was expecting to find did not turn up, Eren visibly relaxed, his blazing eyes returning to their usual vibrant green.

“You left,” he accused morosely.

Levi plopped back onto his chair.  He brought his hands up to massage the bridge of his nose as he contemplated strangling the infuriating boy in front of him.

“Yes, Eren,” he sighed.  “I did.  I asked Armin to give you a lift if you needed one, so…I don’t really see what the problem is.”

Eren frowned, “We were supposed to talk, Levi.  You and I.  You said we would, but then you _left_!  You’re still avoiding me!”  He hovered over Levi, barely giving him any room to move.  “Why did you do that?  Why _would_ you?  I specifically asked you and you said yes!” 

His eyes were no longer glowing with anger, but glistening with frustration.

“Eren, we hardly spoke one word to each other.  I honestly don’t know why you even wanted me to be there in the first place.”

“Well, we couldn’t talk right there in front of everyone Levi!  It’s private stuff that’s just between us.  You _know_ that!”  He narrowed his eyes before adding, “I was hoping to speak to you after we’d hung out with the guys, but no!  You decided you’d rather become best friends with Marco all of a sudden.  Fine, I get it!  He’s nice and sweet and smart, and… actually human!  Whatever!” 

Oh, so that’s who he was looking for.  He knew he’d left with Marco and had run home immediately to interrupt whatever he imagined Levi was doing with the guy.  He was jealous, clear as day.  Levi supposed he should be annoyed by this, but he really couldn’t bring himself to feel that way.  If anything, he felt just a little bit hopeful. 

Eren was riled up again, shaking an accusing finger at Levi.  “You two ganged up on me.  You took _his_ side!  And then you _left-_ with HIM!  You couldn’t even be bothered to tell me you were leaving, huh?  You were in _such_ a hurry to get him home.  I don’t even matter to you, do I?  Do you even know how that makes me feel?!” 

Levi stared up at him, open jawed, momentarily speechless.

_Yes!  I know_ exactly _how that feels, fucking idiot!_

“Are you even hearing what you’re saying, Eren?!  I swear to fucking god!  _You’re_ the one who ran off to suck face with your boyfriend.  _You_ did that.  So I don’t see what-”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Eren interrupted him indignantly, eyes blinking with confusion.  “I did _what_ with my _WHAT_ now?!”

His hands were on his hips, eyes narrowed, brows furrowed.  It was as if he was daring Levi to repeat that slanderous sentence.  Oh, was he going to play stupid now? 

“You and your stupid _DOUCHEBAG_ of a boyfriend, _Jean_ ,” Levi paused for emphasis.  “Ditched _us_ to have your own private make out _fucking_ paradise.  Re…mem…ber?”

Eren took a step back.  Levi watched his face twist into various shades of shock, disgust and…embarrassment?

“JEAN IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” he sputtered blushing fiercely.

Levi dug his hands into the arm rests of his chair with frustration.  Had Eren lost his mind?  Or was Levi the one going insane here?  There had to be some kind of truth behind Eren’s words, demons didn’t lie after all.  But he’d been there, he’d seen it.  How was it possible?

“Eren,” he started, sounding like a parent giving a child a lecture about the obvious.  “I was there when he asked you out.  You said yes, remember?  What did you think that meant?”

Eren tilted his head, concentrating, trying to recall.  He seriously didn’t remember? 

When the boy stared back at Levi with lost eyes, Levi knew. 

No.  He actually didn’t.

“Unbelievable,” he shook his head, to which Eren pouted.  “When we first visited Dottie, _that_ night, he asked you out.”  Eren frowned, eyes wandering upwards trying to recall the incident.  “He asked you if you wanted to get some coffee with him, remember?” Levi prodded. 

He scoffed.  “What, and that means we’re going out now?  By that logic, you and I are going out.  Marco and I are going out.  All the gang is going out.  How does that even make sense, Levi?”

Fuck!  Was this real?  Really, he had to deal with this?

Levi tapped his fingers against his cheek, jaw clenched in an effort not to scream bloody murder to the heavens.

“Eren,” he began again, taking a deep calming breath.  “He asked you if you wanted to go out and get some coffee with him and talk.  You know, _just the two of you_.  To spend time together.  Alone?”

Please god, let there be light!  He mentally prayed.

“I _know_ that,” Eren said, as if he were explaining something painfully obvious to Levi.  “That’s because you weren’t feeling well and couldn’t join us.  Remember?”

“Jesus Christ!” Levi exclaimed.  “No, Eren.  No!”

“Yes!  I brought you some coffee when I came back, your favorite.  But you were _really_ drunk, so maybe you don’t remember that, huh?”

No, he didn’t remember.  Great, now he’d feel guilty about that too.  Levi didn’t know whether to scream or laugh or cry.  Maybe he could do all three at once if he focused hard enough.

“Eren, you guys went out all the time after that!”

“Well yeah.  But we did that even before, because we’re _friends_ Levi.  Friends hang out.  And also, you decided you had to take on all that stupid work so it’s not like _we_ could hang out.  That’s when you started avoiding-” he paused, his eyes going wide with understanding.  “Me…” a sudden gasp escaped his mouth.  “Is _that_ why you were avoiding me?  You were mad at me because you thought I was dating Jean?”

Levi felt his face flush.

“No,” he lied, but Eren was not listening to him at that point.

“Oh my god!” he whispered, running his fingers nervously through his hair.  “So that’s why  Marco suddenly had an attitude with me!  Everyone started acting a little weird towards us.   And that’s why Jean…” he trailed off, ears burning.

“Do you see now?”

Eren squeaked, sinking to the floor. 

_Finally!_   Levi sighed. 

“Levi, what am I going to do?” Eren whined.  “I like Jean, but I don’t like him like _that_!  Marco must hate me!”

Levi shrugged.

“I think he’ll be fine once you let him know it was a misunderstanding.”

“I hope so,” the boy said sullenly.

“What I don’t understand is how could you _not_ know, Eren?  You two ran off to be alone at the beach tonight!  What?  Do you make out with _all_ your friends?” 

“No! ”  Eren blurted out angrily.  “Hell _no_ we did not make out!  He hadn’t tried anything before!  But then, tonight- oh my god!”

“He waited to make his move until tonight?”

Eren hesitated, embarrassed as hell, unsure if he wanted to continue.

“Eren?”

“Yes!” Eren turned beet red before blurting out, “he tried to fucking _kiss_ me!”

He forced it out like horrible medicine that left a bad taste in his mouth.

“What’s wrong with that?  That’s normal.  Plus, you’ve been dating for weeks now.  You can’t tell me he’s been settling for holding hands that whole time?”

Eren looked positively scandalized.

“Eren!  Why did you think he wanted to take a walk with you alone- on the beach- in the dark, dumbass?”

“It’s _Jean_ , Levi!  I thought he was planning some kind of sick prank on you guys!  I was really looking forward to it, actually.  You guys were being jerks.  But I didn’t think he’d try to assault me with his fucking germ infested mouth!”

Well, that was kind of harsh. 

“If Jean _did_ think we were going out,” the demon continued hesitantly.  “Then I think... I kinda just broke up with him tonight.”

“Huh?  What do you mean?”

Eren rolled his eyes at him.  “He tried to kiss me Levi.  I gave him a black fucking eye, ok?”

Levi sucked in a breath before covering his mouth with his hands.  This was _so_ not the time to burst into hysterical laughter.

“It’s just a kiss, Eren.” he heard himself say, struggling to keep the mirth out of his voice.

“That is so… _fucking…_ gross!” he declared, face full of disgust, his body shuddering with obvious distaste.

Levi was taken aback.  Was he missing something here?

“Eren?” he ventured.  “Have you _ever_ kissed anyone?”

“God no!” was the unexpected offended reply.

Levi scrunched up his face, having never been more puzzled in his life.  The demon was hundreds of years old!  How could he not ever have kissed anyone before?  Was this a demon thing?  How did they even work?

“How do you show someone you like them then if you don’t kiss them?”

Eren, who was sitting Indian style on the rug now, lowered his gaze and worried his lower lip trying to come up with a response.

“Well, the thing is.  We don’t exactly have that… _problem_ on the other side.”

Levi frowned. 

“Well, it’s not like the demon race is going extinct.  Your parents obviously had to get together somehow to have you, didn’t they?  _Something’s_ gotta be going down.”

Eren groaned with frustration.  “No!  That’s completely different, Levi.  Our world doesn’t work like yours.”

“Well, then enlighten me, smart ass.”

Eren picked himself off the floor and slowly walked over to the window.  Leaning against the wall, he mulled over what he was going to say.

“Kissing.  Feelings.  _Boyfriends_ ,” he exhaled loudly.  “Those are all human notions.  That doesn’t exist on the other side.  It’s seen as a weakness actually.  All the mind games, all the drama.  It’s wholly unnecessary.  It’s…it’s laughed at.  You guys are looked down upon for it.”

“What?” Levi was flabbergasted.  “Then how do you guys…you know, get together?”

Eren gave a short chuckle.

“When you find a suitable partner, you mate.  That’s it.  There’s no romantic stuff.”

“Oh,” that was anticlimactic.  “Sounds kind of boring, actually.”

“Yeah, it’s about as romantic as a business deal, I guess.”

Levi contemplated the demon, noting how he was nervously fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.  Not able to stand still.  At that moment he recalled how Ymir had told him that Eren wasn’t like the other demons she knew.  He knew the boy liked to cuddle for damn sure.  That expressed _some_ kind of feelings, didn’t it?  So how was it he didn’t like to kiss?  Then again, how could he profess to dislike something so strongly when he had no personal experience with it? 

“Is that normal for _all_ demons?  Or…”

 He didn’t miss the subtle crimson that crept up on the boy’s cheeks and neck. 

“Well, yeah!  All demons.” 

That didn’t sound very convincing to the shorter male.

Levi slowly got off his chair.  He gathered the trash from his dinner and started to walk towards the kitchen.

“Levi?”

“I need a drink,” he said as matter of fact.  “Then I’m going to bed.”

Levi decided he needed something cool and sweet. 

_Stupid kid_ , he cursed to himself as he scooped out some vanilla ice cream.  How did he even know kissing was gross if he’d never even tried it?  It seemed to him demons were uptight hypocrites who needed to loosen up.  Did they never do anything just for fun?  The way Eren described life in his world made it sound like one major suck fest.  No wonder the kid wanted to spend time here instead.

When the drinks were blended, he poured the mix into glasses and added a swirl of chocolate syrup over the tops.  He was rinsing out the mixer when Eren wandered into the kitchen with him.  He looked like a kicked puppy.  Of course he would.  The damn brat had that look mastered.

“What’s that?  A frozen white Russian?” he quipped.

“Close,” Levi said, ignoring the jab.  “It’s a kahlua mudslide.  You can try one if you like.”

“Oh, thanks,” he smiled, picking up one of the glasses.

Levi walked over to the living room couch and turned on the TV for a distraction while he drank his much needed alcohol.  Eren joined him. 

Sitting so close next to the demon, Levi found himself wondering if Eren really hadn’t meant to date Jean, then was the boy interested in him after all like he’d initially suspected?  He certainly acted possessively over him.  And he was way too touchy feely for simple platonic feelings.  If Eren did in fact like him, but was vehemently opposed to kissing, then how would he ever manage to show Levi how he felt?  Or did he plan on just jumping him one day like an animal in heat.  The thought of that was actually kind of appealing, but the boy didn’t look like the type who would.  Damn it. 

He watched Eren slowly sip his mudslide, pretending to be interested in whatever show was on right now.  Levi remembered his pep talk to Marco.  If Eren was never going to make a move, then it was up to him wasn’t it?

“How is your drink?” Levi asked casually.

“It’s good,” he said cheerfully.

“I don’t think mine has enough chocolate syrup,” Levi said nonchalantly.  He placed his glass back on the coffee table.  Damn.  It was hard keeping the nerves out of his voice.  “What about yours?”

“Mine’s fine,” Eren answered with a raised eyebrow.  He was probably wondering why Levi was making such a fuss over a stupid drink.  “It’s _really_ good, actually.”  He took a long sip as though to prove it.

“Really?” Levi focused his breathing.  “Let’s see.”

As soon as Eren’s lips broke contact with the glass he was sipping from, Levi leaned over, closing the distance between them, grabbed the demon’s chin and smashed their lips together.  Eren gasped giving Levi the entry he needed.  He forced his tongue into the boy’s mouth running it along the demon’s own, tasting the alcohol, ice cream and chocolate lingering there.  His tongue was icy, a stark contrast to Levi’s invading warmth.  Levi twisted his tongue with the demon’s with great relish.  His whole mouth was cold, chilled.  Levi shivered a little.  He couldn’t exactly tell if that was from the frozen feeling inside Eren’s mouth or from the fact that he was finally kissing him.  Kissing him despite the fact that the demon had just told him he found it disgusting. 

The boy had stiffened at first, now he wasn’t exactly kissing him back, but he wasn’t pushing him away either.  His breathing was ragged and his hands rested on Levi’s hips, as though he was unsure of where else to place them.  Levi cupped Eren’s cheeks with his hands bringing their faces closer.  He explored the roof of his mouth, ran his tongue all along each tooth before he finally released him slightly, only to give him a couple of lingering, slow kisses, noting how soft and warm his lips were before pulling away completely.

When Levi opened his eyes, he noticed Eren was also just opening his.  They were both breathing heavily, Eren looking a cross between severely confused and extremely upset. 

“Yep, tastes fine,” Levi said breathily.

Eren opened his mouth, but couldn’t force words out.  Suddenly flustered, he shot up off the couch and headed straight for the bathroom.

He could only imagine the boy was going to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth of Levi’s disgusting invasion.  Oh well, Levi sighed deeply.  At least now he knew what it was like to kiss the boy.  Now he could work on getting over it.  If that was even possible!  Damn, he enjoyed that kiss way too much.

He grabbed their glasses and headed to the kitchen to clean them.  He needed time to regain his composure as well, and cleaning is what he did best.  He washed their glasses, dried them, put them away and then wiped down all the counters.  He was in front of the sink, drying off his hands when he felt the boy looming behind him. 

He turned around and saw Eren standing there awkwardly.  He seemed like he wanted to say something, but as usual was unsure as how to proceed.

Levi figured he’d skip all the arguing and just come clean to get it over with.

“Look, Eren,” he leaned back against the counter with a sigh.  “I’m sorry, ok-”

“You kissed me,” the demon cut him off.  It was an accusation.

“I know.  I’m trying to apologize…”

Eren leaned into him, bringing their bodies flush against each other, placing one hand on the counter behind him for support.  His body was warm as always.  Levi felt himself heating up to match.  Maybe it was just the alcohol?  He stared down into Levi’s eyes, his own orbs filled with a weird mixture of emotions that confused the shorter male.  Levi watched as he slowly brought up his other hand to his face, his fingers lightly caressing the soft porcelain skin of his cheek.  He noticed his hand was trembling slightly and decided he must be nervous.  Eren traced his fingers along the lines of his jaw gently, ghosting them over his lips before running his thumb over his bottom lip.  Levi whimpered, suddenly he couldn’t control his breathing.  At least he knew the demon’s was just as haphazard.  He let his eyes wander slowly up to Eren’s, not bothering to disguise the desire he knew the demon would find there.

His primal hunger increased tenfold when he found Eren’s gaze matched his own.  The brunette leaned in further until Levi could feel his hot breath against his sensitive ear’s skin. 

“Kiss me again,” he growled softly. 

Levi sucked in a sharp breath.  He liked the demanding tone the demon had taken on.  Yes, he liked that very much.  He’d snaked an arm around Levi’s waist and now held him tightly, possessively.  He licked his ear slowly, teasingly before touching his cheek to Levi’s, then he grabbed his chin tilting his head so his tongue could map a trail to his mouth.

Levi turned his head to meet the boy’s mouth and kissed him fervently, his arms wrapping around his neck, a needy whine escaping his mouth, his body quivering with anticipation.  Eren decided it was his turn to explore Levi’s mouth and did so leisurely, dominating the shorter male.  Levi was more than willing to give Eren free reign inside his mouth.  He could feel Eren’s growing erection against his stomach, and he was pretty sure Eren could feel his cock hard against his thigh.  He moaned into Eren’s mouth when the boy grabbed his ass roughly, lifting him slightly off the ground, grinding against him so hard Levi’s back ached from the impact with the counter behind him.  He felt more than heard Eren’s low grunt of appreciation when Levi wrapped his leg around him for balance and to get as much contact as possible.

But Eren was greedy, he wanted more.  The boy broke contact with his mouth, his breathing labored, eyes boring into him for a moment before he lifted the shorter man with both hands on his ass now.  Their erections rubbed against each other making Eren moan loudly and Levi arch his spine, tossing his head back as he exclaimed loudly, “Fuck!”

Eren gave a small laugh before alternately kissing, licking and sucking Levi’s neck and collarbone.  Levi enjoyed the rough treatment of Eren’s mouth on him.  He could feel Eren’s teeth sometimes grazing his skin, and with the insistent sucking he knew Eren was leaving marks.  Levi moaned in absolute pleasure with the attention.  His arms were snaked around Eren’s neck for support, fingers twisted in the boy’s hair. 

“Levi,” Eren growled into his neck in between ministrations.  “The sounds you make…they’re driving me crazy…I want you.”

Levi’s throat was so dry he couldn’t even give a proper reply.

“Hahh…”

Eren suddenly lifted Levi onto the counter.  Levi whined missing the contact until Eren grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head fluidly.  Then he did the same to his own.  Although he was used to the sight of shirtless Eren, Levi still appreciated the toned sculpted man before him.  He almost flushed when he realized this was the first time Eren was seeing him shirtless as well, and watched the boy’s face carefully as the demon drank him in.  Levi’s skin was beautiful ivory, his nipples almost the same lovely shade of delicate pink as his flushed cheeks.  His broad shoulders, toned chest and defined abs were a work of art worthy of Michelangelo.  Eren hummed in loud approval before taking possession of the shorter man’s mouth once again.

He kissed him teasingly playing with his tongue, biting his lip playfully, and Levi soon realized it was just a distraction of sorts.  Eren fumbled with the button of Levi’s shorts, undoing it easily.  He zipped down the fly and dipped his hand into Levi’s boxers finding and wrapping his hand around his length.

“Mmmf…!” is all that was heard of Levi’s muffled groan.

He pushed his boxers down, releasing Levi’s cock from confinement, wrapped his long fingers carefully around it and gave it a long stroke.  Levi yelped into Eren’s mouth, his hips bucking up in response.  He felt Eren smile against his lips, felt his hand begin to pump his cock slowly.  He almost bit Eren’s tongue from the stimulation. 

Eren broke the kiss, playfully nibbling on Levi’s chin for a moment before he leaned over and wrapped his mouth over the head of his throbbing penis.  He swirled his tongue over it before darting the tip in and out of his slit eliciting a loud hiss from the shorter man. 

“Ah, fuck!”

Levi shouted when Eren took in his whole length.  His whole body jerked in arousal, his head almost hitting one of the cabinets.  Eren’s mouth was deliciously warm and wet around his cock.  He continued to pump his base with his hand while his mouth took him in again and again leaving his erection glistening with saliva.  Levi’s hand had never left Eren’s hair, he curled his fingers through the messy brown strands, sometimes pulling perhaps a bit harder than he intended, not that the demon minded.  Eren had undone his own shorts and was stroking himself at the same time that his head bobbed up and down on Levi’s cock.  His tongue making the most obscene slurping, smacking noises; his mouth sometimes losing contact with his penis with a loud pop.

Everything was too much for Levi, he knew at this pace he wouldn’t last long and he wanted the brat in his bed immediately.

“Eren,” he said pushing the boy’s shoulder back so he could stop.

The boy looked up at him in confusion.

“Bedroom,” Levi gasped out in between pants.

The demon didn’t have to be told twice.  He scooped Levi up into his arms and headed straight for his bed.  Once there he sat Levi down near the edge, made short work of removing what was left of their clothing and pushed him back to lie down following right after him. 

Levi pushed Eren onto his back, scooting back to sit between his legs.  He slid his hands underneath Eren’s thighs, positioning them over his shoulders.  He held onto one of the boy’s thighs tightly to keep him in place.  With his other hand he took the base of Eren’s erection in his slender fingers carefully, locking eyes with the boy making sure he was watching before he leaned in and gave his shaft a slow deliberate lick making the demon groan with pleasure.  He then flicked his tongue along the head just to play with the boy a bit the way he’d done to him. 

“Levi!” Eren protested.  “Ah!”

The shorter man complied and took all Eren’s length into his mouth, swirling his tongue against his member.  He then let his cock slide out languidly giving the head a loud kiss while pumping the demon slowly.  He ran his tongue down his length again, his eyes on Eren this whole time.  He continued his wet path down running his tongue over the demon’s balls licking them thoroughly, giving them equal attention before taking one into his mouth carefully, sucking it gently. 

“Ah!” Eren gasped.  “That’s enough from you,” he said with a gravelly voice. 

The demon sat up abruptly, grabbed Levi by his hips and flipped their positions.

Levi grinned up at him mischievously.  He’d suspected the boy would want to take control and he looked forward to it.

He grabbed Levi’s chin kissing him roughly, Levi wrapped his arms around his back digging his nails into the smooth skin they met there.  Eren reached between them, grinding their erections together in his hand.  Soon enough the two were panting heavily again, their low moans needy. 

Eren reached over to the nightstand grabbing a bottle of lube and a condom.  He poured the cool gel liberally onto his fingers, stretched Levi’s thighs apart as far as they would go then leaned over Levi to kiss him again.  Levi reached up wrapping his arms around the demon, his fingers in the boy’s hair again.  Eren reached in between Levi’s legs and slowly worked one finger in, stretching him out, preparing him.  Levi hissed at the initial intrusion.  He sucked on Eren’s lip trying to distract himself from the pain.  Eren’s mouth travelled down to his adam’s apple and nibbled it playfully, giving him a soft bite when he added another finger making Levi gasp.  Levi groaned loudly when Eren started pumping his fingers in and out of his tight hole. 

Once Eren felt Levi was ready, he slid on the condom and applied a generous amount of lube onto his length.  He aligned the tip of his cock against the shorter man’s hole, his hand resting on Levi’s thigh for balance.  Levi was sitting up on his elbows watching the demon with great interest.  He licked his lips in anticipation of what was about to come.  Eren entered him slowly looking for any sign of discomfort.  Levi cried out, but it was definitely not with displeasure.  He fell back onto the bed arching his back.

“Ahh!” the two men hissed almost simultaneously.  Eren from the tight heat enveloping his cock and Levi from being filled so completely by the demon. 

Eren began pumping into Levi’s heat, slowly at first to help the man get used to being filled.  He leaned over Levi, his hands on the back of his thighs almost bending the man in half.  He kissed him hungrily, though it was somewhat sloppy with all the gasping.  Levi didn’t care, he kissed Eren back almost desperately.  The demon then cupped one of his pectorals, gripping it possessively, massaging it sensually before letting go and pinching his nipple gently instead.  He left Levi’s mouth to nibble his other neglected nipple gently, licking it lasciviously. 

“Mmm…”

When Levi bucked his hips up insistently, Eren knew he was ready.  He sat up and spread his knees apart for better positioning.  Levi wrapped his legs around Eren’s waist.  Eren gripped Levi’s hips for better control of their movements, his fingers digging into the man’s skin mercilessly.  He thrust into Levi, slowly at first, going all the way to the hilt.  Then he pulled out almost all the way and rammed inside him, making Levi curse loudly.  He continued slamming into him over and over again, faster and faster until he established a steady rhythm.  He rolled his hips and angled his cock making sure he hit Levi’s bundle of nerves every time, Levi’s shameless cries spurring him on.

Levi was writhing underneath him, grabbing onto anything within reach, anything to ground him, to keep him from losing his mind.  He arched his back and used his legs to match Eren thrust for thrust.  The slapping of skin on skin echoed loudly throughout Levi’s bedroom along with the groans and string of curses spilling from both the boys’ lips.  The bed creaked noisily underneath their weight, threatening to give out.  Their bodies were covered in sweat, they both still smelled faintly of ocean salt.  Levi’s senses were reeling, he was nearing the point of overstimulation.  He felt the familiar heat pooling in his lower belly.

“Eren… Ah!...” Levi uttered, trying to warn the demon that he was close. 

Eren wrapped his hand around Levi’s erection, slick with precum and pumped it in time with his thrusts.  He wanted to watch Levi come, wanted to see him unravel underneath him, very much desired to hear him scream in undisguised bliss like a wanton whore.

And Levi did not disappoint.  He shuddered underneath him, moaning lewdly, gasping, his face contorting, his cock shooting strings of pearly white cum into the air landing all over his stomach and chest.  His walls tightening around Eren again and again as he rode out the waves of his orgasm.  The demon could not hold out any longer after watching the beautiful man underneath him become undone in the throes of passion.  He came directly after Levi, his cock pulsing, spilling his seed inside his lover, his body trembling, his lips whispering Levi’s name over and over.  Finally overcome with exhaustion, he pulled out of Levi slowly making the shorter male whimper.  He let himself fall beside Levi and kissed him tenderly. 

Levi cleaned himself off with his discarded shorts.  Eren disposed of the used condom then wrapped his arms around Levi bringing him in close so he could kiss his forehead.  They lay under the sheets with their legs tangled, holding each other closely, enjoying each other’s warmth and smiling like idiots.  Levi knew they were still covered in a thin layer of sweat, but he was too tired and happy to care.  He stared into the demon’s eyes beside him.  Those green emeralds were a façade, he knew it.  But he was used to it.   He supposed it wasn’t a big deal because he knew what the real Eren looked like. 

Eren was caressing his cheek, looking at him with so much emotion it scared him.  Levi wasn’t sure what the extent of his feelings were for Eren.  He knew he’d fallen for him, that was undeniable.  But how deep did his feelings run?  He’d never felt so happy in his life and that scared the shit out of him.  That meant he could get hurt again, even worse than with Erwin.  Was it too soon to think he might be in love with the demon?  Was it even a good idea to _be_ in love with a being from another universe altogether?  No, it really wasn’t.  Maybe he was just getting ahead of himself.  He tried to push these thoughts out of his head as he drifted off to sleep.

“Levi,” Eren whispered, suddenly bringing Levi back into alertness.

“Hmm?”

“It was always you,” he said with a tenderness Levi didn’t even know he was capable of.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the one I want.  It was always you.  Since the day I first met you.  I just wanted you to know.”

Levi suddenly couldn’t breathe.

Having said his declaration, Eren gave him a quick kiss on the tip of his nose, a long lingering kiss on his lips, then drifted off to sleep.

Any immediate thoughts of sleep went out the window for Levi.  He struggled to calm his erratic heart.  He was done, that was it, there was no denying it.  Eren’s words brought out a feeling he was not used to having, but he recognized it no problem. 

Possessiveness.

Eren was his.  That’s all there was to it.  The demon belonged to him. 

 

Yes. 

 

He was most definitely in love.

 

Fuck.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm not a boy, so this is mostly speculation.
> 
> This chapter fried my brain.  
> Also, I was blushing so intensely as I wrote this I'm surprised I didn't melt the computer.  
> ///O.o///


	14. Humans...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets an unexpected visitor.

* * *

 

“Levi…”

 

He was calling him. 

 

Levi wasn’t sure if he was really hearing his voice or if it was a fabrication of his mind.  It was light, weightless like mist, surrounding him as he wandered down the dark hallway.  He had no idea where he was or who lived there.  He wasn’t familiar with the house at all; he’d never been here before in his life, he was sure of it.  But that didn’t really register as a problem for some reason.  He was sure footed and thought only of following the voice that beckoned him forward. 

He opened a door and followed a staircase having no idea where it would spiral down to.  The steps were hard concrete, the walls rough brick.  They should probably feel like ice under his bare feet and fingers’ touch at this time of night, but he felt nothing.  He could see the soft white clouds of his own breath out in front of him.  He must have felt at least a bit chilled, he was only wearing pajama bottoms, and maybe he did, but he couldn’t really tell.  It was really hard to focus. 

The only thing he could concentrate on was the fact that wherever this led to, Eren was there.  He needed to go to him.  He needed to find him, needed to see him. 

Oddly enough, the urgency in his mind didn’t match the seemingly slow actions of his body.  He couldn’t will himself to go any faster than the steady pace it had set.  He was forced to creep along, his body not willing to relinquish control.  He recognized that he was dreaming, maybe even sleep walking.  He tried to use this knowledge to his advantage, take control of the dream.  But he was powerless, stuck at the mercy of his subconscious.  It was infuriating to say the least. 

The heavy wooden door at the landing led to the backyard, the expanse of which went on indefinitely.  Yellowing foliage, withering topiaries, a maze of dry hedges, elaborate fountains, statues and dark flowers dotted the scenery as far as the eye could see, the horizon giving no clue as to where it might end.  Maybe it never did.  It was nighttime, but not like any he’d ever witnessed before.  The crescent moon was deep amber stained with swirls of blood.  It made quite the sight, a blood-orange slit in a black-purple sky devoid of stars.

He should have hesitated at the very real possibility that he was walking into a labyrinth of sorts; that he could become lost, that there may be traps hidden within the dying flora.  There usually were in these sort of things, weren’t there?  His feet continued forward in their slow but steady pace, turning random corners now and again with neither rhyme nor reason.  The grass underneath him was covered in dew.  His damp feet were quickly covered in mud, stray blades and roots.  He was beginning to feel disgusted by it, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of scrubbing his feet raw.  He tried willing himself to stop, but instead his body suddenly rushed forward quickening his pace to a slow jog. 

He had no idea where he was in the maze of shrubbery, but he did feel the urgency in his body intensify as he rounded a corner into a small clearing.  The eerie orange moonlight was especially luminous here reflecting specks of a sunset into the soft spouting water of a fountain in the middle.  The fountain was his destination, he gathered when his feet made him head straight for it.  He was panting by the time he came to a complete stop at its edge. 

His eyes meticulously scanned every inch of the clearing, slowly taking in his surroundings.

 

Fury rose quickly within his chest. 

 

There was no one here. 

 

Why had he been led here if it was for nothing?  He wanted to kick, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but again he was not his own body’s master.  He felt himself fall on his knees, frustration eating away at his core.

What was the point of this?  Who had brought him here?

He raised his eyes to the sky in desperation, searching for some kind of answer.  His breath left him when his gaze landed on one of the statues in the middle of the fountain. 

 

“Eren!” he yelled internally.

 

He was in full demon form; wings tucked behind him, crouched down on one knee, hands on the ground in front of him staring directly at Levi with vacant eyes.  Two other demon statues more closely resembling gargoyles were standing back to back with him in varying poses. 

He couldn’t get up.  He was frozen in place. 

Levi struggled to move, but it was futile.  His body would not respond.  The edges of consciousness were slowly slipping away from him, his field of vision beginning to darken. 

 

“Levi!”

 

Eren was no longer just calling him to this place, he was screaming in anguish for him.  Levi wanted nothing more than to reach for him, but he couldn’t.   If he could just stand up, he could reach Eren.  The more he struggled, the closer the ground seemed to get, the darker his surroundings became.

Stand up!

Dammit, just stand up!

But it was all in vain.  His field of vision was swallowed up by the blur of grass barreling towards his face.  He had no strength left, it was too late.  He was falling into darkness.

 

“No!”

Eren’s desperate cry echoed within the confines of his head.

 

* * * * *

 

“No!”

 

Levi screamed, bolting into an upright position, gasping for breath. 

His heart was racing, his vision blurry.  His body shivered with the cooling effect from the thin layer of sweat coating him.

It was just a dream… just a dream, he repeated to himself silently.  He hunched over holding his head between his hands trying to gather his bearings.

 

Eren.  He’d been looking for Eren.

 

He jerked in a panic to confirm for his own sanity that Eren was still there beside him.  He needed to hold him, to be held in his arms.  He needed to see him and touch him to know that everything was going to be all right.  That everything would be okay.

 

But it wasn’t. 

 

He was alone.

 

Panic threatened to consume him.  He focused on his breathing, willing his heart rate to return to normal.  The space Eren had occupied was still warm, it still held his scent.  He couldn’t have been gone for long.  He couldn’t be far.  Levi bolted out of bed not caring that he was stark naked.  He searched everywhere in the apartment for a clue, any clue as to where the boy could be, but found nothing.  He grabbed his cell phone, unlocking it with trembling hands and dialing the demon’s contact as quickly as his stumbling fingers would allow.  He slammed it furiously against the couch when he heard Eren’s cell go off in the bedroom.

He sank to the ground, trembling.  No, this was not happening.  He felt the burning in his eyes, but refused to acknowledge the tears he knew were pooling there, threatening to spill over.  There had to be an explanation.  Even if it wasn’t a reasonable one, he didn’t care. 

 

Why? 

 

Why did he leave?  Did he go willingly?  Had he planned on doing so all along?

 

_When you find a suitable partner, you mate.  That’s it.  There’s no romantic stuff._

 

 

No!  He wouldn’t believe Eren was referring to him as well.  Because if that was the case, then what of his declaration last night?  What was the point of it then?

His stomach sank when he realized Eren had only said he was the one he wanted.  There were no emotional feelings attached to that statement.  Not necessarily.  It didn’t really have to be the declaration of love Levi had assumed it had been if you looked at it that way.  His chest tightened.

No.  He would not believe Eren had left him, not until he could confirm it.  He’d find the idiot no matter how long it took.  He’d been a passive player in his own life for too long.  He needed answers and he was not willing to let this go until he got them.  The only problem was where would he even begin to look?  

 

Just where the fuck did Eren go?! 

 

* * * * *

 

Several hours later, he was freshly showered, dressed and ready to go.  After almost giving himself a migraine from replaying the situation over and over in his head, he decided that was not going to get him anywhere and it would be best if he kept himself busy.  He needed to tire his body out, dull his tormenting brain.  First, one strong cup of coffee and a long hot shower to calm his nerves.  Then, he cleaned his condo from top to bottom.  If Eren had indeed left him, he didn’t need that fact to be shoved in his face everywhere he turned.  He gathered everything that reminded him of the boy and placed it in a box in the corner of his closet that was formerly reserved for Hanji’s crap.  He silenced Eren’s cell and kept it with him.  He convinced himself that it was in case Eren tried to contact him through it, but that was a lie.  Eren knew his cell phone number and all of his friend’s numbers too.  He really just wanted to see if anyone trying to contact him had knowledge of what had happened and if they might know where he’d gone.    

He’d tried calling Hanji several times, but the crazy woman just wasn’t picking up.  He’d left several messages, knowing full well she’d keep them and use them to taunt him later.  He’d called Armin and Marco as casually as he could to see if they’d seen him without any luck.  He even tried Ymir.  She hadn’t answered, but texted him that she was in class.  Levi was momentarily taken aback.  Out of all the brats, she was the one who was actually at school?  Why did she even need to go?  Probably just to be with Krista, he guessed.  He decided he’d go over to Dottie’s and wait for Hanji there.  He was just making himself crazy here and he really needed someone to talk to.

He’d grabbed his keys and wallet and was just about to head for the garage door when his doorbell rang.

 

Fuck! 

 

What lousy timing.  He didn’t really want to speak to any of the brat’s friends unless they knew where he might be.  And even then it could get awkward really fast if they questioned why _he_ didn’t know Eren’s whereabouts.  He gripped the door handle angrily and swung it open so hard it almost slammed into the adjacent coat closet wall.  He already had his darkest glare fixed on his face prepared to intimidate whatever little shit was bothering him without calling first.  That glare turned into surprise, then an even darker scowl.  It wasn’t any of the kid’s friends at his door.  It was stupid eyebrows.

He gripped the door again and pushed it shut with all his might, intending to slam it in the blonde’s face, but Erwin anticipated his move and got a foot in at the last possible minute effectively blocking his attempt.

“What are you doing here?” he grunted, still struggling to close the door.  He was not going to give up so easily, who cared if the guy’s foot got mangled.

Erwin smirked, his liquid blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Nice to see you too, Levi,” he chuckled before pushing the door open easily and walking right past him, violating the sanctuary of his own home. 

Levi bristled.  He followed the taller male, not wanting to let him out of his sight until he was out the door and out of his life again.

“How’d you know where to find me?”

Erwin sat down leisurely on his couch, arm draped over the side.  Levi’s face darkened at the way his ex was making himself at home.

“Well, you won’t answer any of my calls, won’t reply to my texts.  What else is a guy to do?  Hmm?”

Levi didn’t miss how the blonde man had side stepped his question.  It didn’t matter, he had a pretty good idea how Erwin had managed to find him.  He’d deal with that later.

“Well, maybe that’s because I have nothing to say to you.  Hmm?” Levi shot back taking the same casual attitude when underneath he was anything but.  “Now, get the fuck out!”

Erwin gave him a disapproving look, before continuing, totally disregarding Levi’s wishes

“I brought you a housewarming gift,” he gestured to the bag holding a bottle of wine he’d set down on the coffee table.  “But maybe I should have bought you an espresso machine instead,” he muttered, taking in his surroundings pursing his lips in distaste.  “Haven’t you had time to re-do this place?”

Levi clenched his hands into fists. 

 

_No, I won’t let him get to me._

 

“Shows how much you know,” he mocked.  “I chose this place because it was _already_ how I wanted.”

“Hm,” the blonde didn’t elaborate.

Levi walked over to the wine, talking himself out of using it to strike the taller man over the head with it.  His face twisted into a bitter smile when he saw the bottle.

“That’s _your_ favorite wine, eyebrows,” he declared triumphantly.  “I don’t even like wine all that much.  It gives me migraines.  Not that you’d notice.”

Erwin pressed his lips together.  “Well, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway.  I didn’t come here to argue.”  He changed the subject.  Of course he would.  “I just wanted to finish the conversation we started at the diner.  I guess I just need you to know my side of what happened.  Just grant me that much and I promise, after that I will leave you alone.”

Levi sighed dramatically as he dropped onto his recliner.  He supposed if that’s all his stupid ex wanted and then he could finally be rid of him, he could spare the five minutes or so.  “Well hurry up then, I haven’t got all day.”

Erwin tented his hands over his nose, thumbs on his chin.  Levi recognized that pose, the gears turning behind his eyes.  It usually meant there was a problem the taller man didn’t know how to deal with.  This should be interesting.

The tall blonde let out a long breath, bracing himself for the conversation.

“Levi… I knew Mike had a thing for me.  I’ve always known.  You and I were having problems.  We weren’t really… intimate anymore.  We were fighting all the time.  We were both miserable, you know we were.  Mike, um… Mike was a good friend.  He cared, he listened, he didn’t judge me.  And well, he was just there for me.  It was nice.”  He paused to run his fingers through his hair.  “Eventually, after spending a lot of time together, he offered _more_.  No strings attached.”

Levi could already hear the ‘but’ coming.

“It was supposed to be a one-time thing.  Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way.  Then it was supposed to be casual.  But gradually, over time, he got clingy, jealous and demanding.  He made me feel guilty about using him, he threatened to tell you everything and it just kept escalating until finally he demanded I break things off with you.”

Levi was genuinely surprised at what he was hearing from Erwin.  He’d always known Mike carried a torch for the blonde.  They’d all known.  He felt bad about being the cause of his unhappiness, but it wasn’t his fault.  He wasn’t the one who got to decide who Erwin fell in love with.  He didn’t know why Mike would stick around watching Erwin build a life with someone else.  Humans were complicated though, and love does terrible things to people’s logic.  But he never imagined the man would resort to something like this.

Not that it changed anything in Levi’s point of view.  Erwin was a grown man and he’d consciously made the choice to get into the situation with Mike.  That it turned out the way it did, was just details.

“Yeah, I really fucked up,” he hung his head.  “I didn’t know how to get out of the mess I’d created and I just… I just let things go the way he wanted.  I thought about what you said at the diner.  I just wanted you to know that I did break up with him.  It wasn’t a healthy relationship.  I’m sorry for what I put you through.  Truly.”

Levi wasn’t sure how to feel.  What they did was shitty, his problem wasn’t with that.  Not anymore, anyway.  It surprised him how quickly he’d gotten over it, actually.  In a twisted way, he felt like he was glad Mike had interfered.  If he hadn’t he would have still been with Erwin.  Been with him blindly because that’s all he knew.  He’d been comfortable, willing to put up with anything Erwin threw at him, assuming things would just work out somehow and the thought of leaving Erwin had never crossed his mind. 

And that meant he would never have met Eren…

His chest hurt at the thought of the missing demon.

Maybe he’d loved Erwin at one point, but that was over now.  They’d grown apart.  All the things Erwin had accused him of at the diner, about him not showing his affection, he’d been absolutely correct.  Levi just hadn’t realized it until he’d felt all those things at once- plus more, but for Eren. 

“Whatever.   What’s done is done,” he said with a loud sigh.  “Now we can both move on.”  He knew Erwin was smart enough to catch what he meant.  That he had _already_ moved on.

Erwin smiled humorlessly.  “I guess so.”

After an awkward moment of silence, Erwin sat up crossing his arms.

“So…” he started hesitantly.  “That boy outside Nick’s- he seemed… _young_.”

“He’s a lot older than he looks,” he wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to explain.  “You’d be surprised.”

Very surprised.  _Extremely_ surprised, quite frankly. 

“Oh?”

Levi frowned.  He hated the way Erwin said that one word so damn much!  It made him tense up for a fight even when there wasn’t going to be one.

 

A year was shaved off each of the men’s lifespan when Levi’s phone suddenly started blaring Suicidal Tendencies at an ear splitting volume. 

_Dammit Eren_ , he cursed silently, his eyes stinging again. 

Levi recognized the song: ‘Institution.’  It could only be one person, obviously.

“Sorry, I have to take this.”

Erwin nodded.

He walked over to the bathroom because his kitchen had no dividing wall.  He left the door partially open because he still wanted to keep an eye on Erwin.  He may be acting civil, but he didn’t trust that man alone in his house.  No way.

When he picked up he didn’t even get a chance to speak before Hanji was already screeching through the connection.

“Levi!  You lost him?  How is that even possible?  Eren’s not a munchkin like you.  He’s more like what my aunt would call a ‘tall drink of water.’  _And_ he’s built!  I mean, you’ve seen him right?”

“Hanji,” Levi tried to cut in. 

He kept his voice down, not wanting to give her away.  He was pretty sure no one besides himself in their circle of friends knew Hanji was out yet.  She said she wasn’t sure if she even wanted them to know, at least not until she was settled back in her own home again.  And even then she’d have to think about it.

“ _Please god_ , tell me you’ve seen him shirtless!  It’s sooooo worth it, Levi!  Yum!  But anyways, how could you have misplaced him?  Have you checked with his friends?  He seemed pretty attached to them.  They’re not really big on the whole _friend_ thing over on the dark side.  So you gotta give the kid a break, you know?”

“Hanji,” he kept repeating, but she kept going on and on, speculating about the demon’s whereabouts, not paying attention.

“Where do kids even hang out anymore?  What’s considered ‘cool’?  Probably vandalism from what my aunt’s been telling me.  Maybe a graveyard, you know, so he could feel more at home-”

 “HEY!” he ended up yelling.  That finally got her to listen.  “I can’t really talk right now.  I’m going to head over to your aunt’s in a bit.  You can continue harassing me when I get there.  You _will_ be there, right?”

“Well gosh!  Where else can I be Levi?  Thanks for rubbing it in!  It’s practically house arrest, you know.  All I need is the ankle bracelet…  Then again, I could probably just build one.  They don’t look all that complicated.  How hard can it be…?”

“Dammit!  Can you just focus-” he could hear her shuffling things around, metal clinking.  She must be looking for spare parts already for the ankle bracelet she one hundred percent did not need.  Lunatic.  “No, you know what?  Forget it.  Just let Dottie know I’m coming over, ok?”

“All right!  See you in a bit Levi!!!”

And just like that, the line went dead.  He didn’t even get to say goodbye.  Not that he’d intended to, but he liked having the option.

Back in the living room, Erwin was back to lounging on his sofa like he owned the place.  Levi made a mental note to vacuum it thoroughly later.

Before Levi was even able to sit down again, there was a knock at his door and he realized he hadn’t closed it all the way having expected to throw Erwin out on his ass.

“Hello?”  Jean entered slowly and smiled hesitantly when his eyes landed on Levi. “Oh, hey Levi.”

“Hey, Jean,” Levi tried really hard not to stare at his shiner.  “How’s it going?”

“Um, fine…” he noticed Erwin.  “Oh, hi there,” he greeted awkwardly.

Shit.

“Levi, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Erwin asked in the most annoying sexual predator tone possible.  Or, at least it seemed that way to him.

_Introduce him as what, the devil incarnate?_

“Yeah, sure,” Levi said in his most bored voice.  “Jean, this is Erwin.  Erwin, Jean.”  

He rushed through the introduction, offering no clue as to how he knew either of them.  He figured they could think whatever they wanted, it wasn’t his problem.  Jean just raised his hand slightly as his way of greeting.  Erwin gave him a curt nod.

“Levi?  Is Eren home?”

Oh crap.

He couldn’t just ask if Eren was ‘here’, could he?  It had to be ‘home’ didn’t it?  Just great. 

Levi didn’t miss the way Erwin was following their conversation intently either.  He wondered what the blonde was thinking right now.  Undoubtedly he’d have a lot of questions regarding Eren and why Jean would be looking for him here.  Tch!  Well, he could wonder all he wanted.  It was none of his business.

He put on the most innocent clueless face he could muster up.

“Eren?” it wasn’t so hard to fake surprise.  “No, he isn’t here right now.  I thought he’d be out with you guys again?”

He noted the way Jean was clutching his cell phone, as if he was waiting for a reply.  He mentally congratulated himself on having the foresight to silence Eren’s cell earlier.

“Ah, no,” Jean scratched the back of his head nervously.  “I’ve been calling him, but he’s not answering.”

“Oh?  Well that’s weird.”

 “Well, we kinda had a…misunderstanding last night.  I really need to talk to him.”

A misunderstanding?!  Oh great, this guy was just as clueless as his stupid brat.

“I see,” Levi said, this time giving him a pointed look to let him know the black eye had not gone unnoticed.  Jean flushed with embarrassment.  “I’ll let him know to contact you as soon as I see him.  But you know…”

Levi decided to push him in the right direction.

“I think he said he was going to hang out with Marco today.”

“Really?”

Levi wondered if his freckled friend had spoken to Jean about his feelings yet. 

“Ok, thanks!” he beamed.  If Eren had the kicked puppy look mastered, Jean’s specialty was the adorable doofus grin.  Levi resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.  “If you hear from either of them, let them know I’m heading to Marco’s right now and I’ll meet them there.  Ok?”

“Sure.”

So that answered his question.  No.  Marco was still a big chicken.   As soon as he found Eren, he was going to make him clear things up with this idiot first and foremost. 

“Thanks,” Jean waved awkwardly as he let himself out.

“You betcha.”

Levi didn’t bother to close the door after Jean.  He had somewhere to be, so eyebrows was going to have to hit the road.

“That was certainly… interesting,” Erwin said drily.  “Wasn’t he also with you outside Nick’s?  Hanging out with college kids now, Levi?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s one of my neighbors,” he snapped.  “And now I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to really leave.  I have an appointment to keep.”

“That’s a kind way of telling me to get the hell out.  Fine, I get it,” Erwin took his time rising from the couch.  He lingered in the doorway, hesitant to leave just yet.  “I can drive you there if you like…” he offered leaning against the frame.

Levi held up his new car keys triumphantly.  Like hell he’d be stuck in a car with him.

Erwin raised an eyebrow. 

“Impressive,” he said with a small smile.  “I really don’t know you at all, do I?”

Levi just shrugged as an answer.

Erwin dug his hands in his slacks, looking up at the sky in thought for a moment. 

“Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Levi scrunched his face in confusion.  Erwin gave a little chuckle at his expression.

“I’m not here to convince you to take me back.  I know you won’t and I don’t expect you to.”

Levi didn’t say anything.  He could only glare at him suspiciously.

“Levi,” he gazed at the shorter man with undisguised tenderness.  It made him uncomfortable.  “We were together for a long time.  You can’t expect me to just magically stop feeling anything for you.  I can’t.”

Levi frowned, feeling himself tense up.  Erwin expressing his feelings.  Ugh!  This was way worse than the way he drawled out his condescending ‘Oh.’

“I won’t ask for forgiveness either, because I know I don’t deserve it.  I just…” he glanced off to the side.  “I just don’t want you to shut me out completely.  I care about you, and I want to be a part of your life.  However small and insignificant that part that may be.  I don’t care.  It doesn’t have to be right away either.  However long it takes, I’ll always be there.  As a friend.  I just want you to know that.”

He smiled before he turned on his heel and walked away.  Just like that.

 

Yes. 

 

Humans were complicated.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's really late at night (morning?) again. 
> 
>  
> 
> I changed the tags because the Erwin x Mike? Yeah... no. 
> 
> Also, if you ever feel like asking me something outside of this site, you can harass me here: failed-litmus-test.tumblr.com


	15. Demons...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets some answers he maybe didn't want...

* * *

 

“And I said to myself, just how on earth do those creatures manage to fly about?  They’re so plump, like stuffed Thanksgiving turkeys.  I mean, they are in no way graceful at all!  Maybe if their wings were just a tad bit longer- oh, I don’t know maybe bigger?  Maybe balance things out a bit, you know?”  she tskd loudly.  “I mean, it’s just not natural.  Every time I see a flock of them- or even just one for that matter- I just shake my head!” 

Dottie seemed exhausted, her thoughts and actions slightly unorganized.  To someone who didn’t know better, she seemed normal.  But Levi remembered when he’d first met her; her senses had been sharp as a tack, her eyes keen, nothing slipping her notice, her movements precise.  Now she sighed dreamily as she gazed into empty space, her fingers knocking her plastic turquoise frames askew when she leaned in to rest her head on her hand.  She was wearing a 50’s style knee length dress with a large flower print the same shade of turquoise as her fake glasses.  Her wig of choice today was done up in a big honey-blonde bouffant.  It went oddly well together. 

“Of course I also can’t help but smile,” she continued lazily, her speech slurring ever so slightly.  “Because they don’t care what we think, they just keep flying.  No matter how ridiculous they may look.  They fly their dear little hearts out.”

She’d apparently gone for a walk earlier at the neighborhood park and encountered a bunch of ducks, a couple of geese and even a crane lounging around the edges of the man-made lake.  She’d admired the tall white majestic crane and watched it until it had flown away with all the grace of a lithe ballerina.  She’d steered clear of the geese because those were dangerous animals.  Then there were those ducks.  They’d first made a huge ruckus as though to advertise to everyone their impending departure and then whoosh!  They’d taken off with a big to do and kept chatting away noisily amongst themselves even as they disappeared into the trees.  Dottie said they appeared to bob up and down, kind of suspended in the air at first, their large hanging bellies threatening to sink them back to the ground.  Once they got into the flow of things though, they were gliding across the sky effortlessly.  Apparently they’d made a big impression on her for some reason.  Maybe there was a metaphor in there somewhere.  Fuck if he knew.  Levi couldn’t even begin to imagine what her thought process was right now.

He wondered if maybe Eren hadn’t messed with her head a little _too_ much. 

They were in her sunroom again, Dottie with her tumbler of bourbon and Levi with his tall glass of iced tea.  He wondered for the umpteenth time if she knew how old he actually was, because he suspected she didn’t think he was old enough to drink yet.  It’s not like he expected for her to offer him anything alcoholic to be honest, but he figured she at least wouldn’t drink so blatantly in front of him if she thought otherwise.  What she did give him was a slice of the lemon cake she’d baked earlier.  It was perfect; moist and spongy, the perfect mixture of sweet and tart.  The lemony cream topping was just sweet enough to complement the pastry without being overpowering.  Being someone who couldn’t stand things that were too sweet, he very much appreciated desserts that didn’t taste like he was stuffing heaping spoonfuls of sugar into his mouth.

“It’s amazing, Dottie!” he’d exclaimed after the first mouth watering bite. 

“Thank you, honey!” she’d purred.

Levi heard a sleepy gurgly attempt at a meow from the chair beside him, which ended in an awkward squeak.  That marmalade tabby, Sawney, had been nowhere to be seen when he’d arrived but had somehow since become his shadow.  Now he was sprawled out on the hard chair beside him, stretching his body into weird arches, probably trying to find a comfortable position.  Fat chance of that, Dottie’s chairs were like wooden butt torture devices!  The cat kept peering up at him every now and again, eyes narrowed, to let him know that he wasn’t about to forget their deal.  Levi just rolled his eyes at first and from then on tried to ignore him without doing anything which might seem antagonistic. 

_Yes cat, you have a deal, but not with me.  I can’t do jack shit for you, you should know that!_

He tried to convey his thoughts to the cat telepathically, but he was pretty sure he was just making a fool of himself.  It creeped him out that the cat would give him his undivided attention whenever he made these attempts at communication as though he could sense it.  He even meowed in response once.  But that was impossible.  Levi chastised himself for even thinking something so dumb.

Even if Levi could do something about Sawney’s condition, he wouldn’t.  They couldn’t restore the tabby to his human form, not yet.  Not until Hanji was back in her own home because Dottie would definitely notice if one of the two cats she had been watching all this time suddenly went missing.  Eren had explained that to the cat, and the feline had been very understanding.  Or so he’d made it seem.

“Levi!  You finally made it!” Hanji suddenly burst into the room. 

Levi glared at her. 

_Stupid four eyes!_   He cursed mentally, knowing if he said it out loud Dottie would box his ears.  He’d sent that crazy woman at least four texts letting her know he’d arrived.  She’d even replied to two of them with ‘Yeah, ok see you in a minute.’  The urge to strangle her was almost overpowering.  She completely disregarded his murderous expression but her face fell instantly when she noticed his dessert.

“Whaaaaaat?!  How come _he_ gets cake?” she whined loudly pointing at Levi.

“Because he is a guest, of course!”  Dottie reproached.  “Honestly!  Where are your manners young lady?”

Young lady?  Levi lifted a questioning brow at Hanji.  She just shrugged.  Hmm.  Maybe they were _all_ still children in Dottie’s eyes.

“But- can’t I have even a little?” Hanji pouted.  “You know that’s my favorite!”

“Of course you may have some.   But it’d be best to wait until after your guest has left,” Dottie scolded.  “We have to be mindful of that ADHD of yours, remember?  You don’t want to drive your friend up a wall while he’s visiting, do you?”

_While I’m visiting_?!  Levi nearly spit out his tea.  _How about every day, all the time!_

“Yes ma’m,” Hanji muttered complacently, all the while shooting daggers at Levi with her eyes.  He smirked at her triumphantly while he leisurely lifted another forkful of cake and bit into it in slow motion making sure she saw just how much he enjoyed every second of it.  Her face twitched with repressed annoyance.

_Good!  That’s for making me wait_.

\---

Once Levi was done with dessert he excused himself and joined Hanji in the basement where she was temporarily housing her experiments.  Sawney followed right after him.

“So,” she started the questioning as soon as they sat down, Levi on an old tangerine colored couch and Hanji on a stool near her workstation.  “You lost your boyfriend, huh?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Levi huffed.

“Riiiiight,” she teased.  She held up her cell phone and tapped it lightly.  “You wanna listen to the messages you left me and see if you can still say that with a straight face?  Hmm?”

Levi scowled.  He knew it!  Damn four eyes.

“No,” he snapped, crossing his arms.  “I just wanted to see if you had any ideas where he might have gone to.  Can you help me or not?”

“I can try,” she said scratching her head.  “But you need to tell me what happened first.  When did you notice he was gone?  Did you guys have a fight?  Did you notice anything weird or just out place maybe?”

“Well.  We did kind of have a…discussion.  It wasn’t a fight though.  We talked it out and he seemed fine.  Happy even,” he was trying to avoid saying anything he knew would bring a flush to his face, but it wasn’t easy.  “But then I woke up early this morning, and he was just _gone_.  All his stuff is still there, it’s still in the apartment.  I have his phone with me, he didn’t even take that.  So I have no way to contact him, I have no idea why he left or how to find him.  It’s just not like him.  He always let me know when he was going to be out and where he was going to be.  It was kind of annoying actually, like it was my job to keep tabs on him.  But I suppose he felt he needed to show me that he could be trusted.  That was important to him. ”

“Well yeah,” she snorted.  “You let a demon run around loose to do as he pleased, Levi.  I mean, who _does_ that?”

She flinched when he shot out of his seat, hands fisted.  

“Yes, that _is_ very important to him,” Ymir suddenly said from the basement stairs.

Levi sat back down, homicidal thoughts back in check.  Sawney jumped on her lap the instant she sat down on the couch next to him.  She petted him absentmindedly.

“So, he’s really gone huh?”

“Yeah,” Levi answered sullenly.  “I haven’t heard from him all day.”

“Well, if it helps any, I know he wouldn’t leave you like this.  At least, not without a good reason.”

Levi was somewhat relieved to hear her say that.  Of the three, she knew the brat the best so she wouldn’t say something like that lightly.  That still didn’t explain where he’d gone to. 

“What would constitute a good reason?”

“Did I hear you correctly when you said he just disappeared, and he didn’t take anything with him?” she asked.  Levi nodded.  Ymir frowned.  “Then I don’t think he left of his own accord.”

“Oh my god!” Hanji squeaked out suddenly.  “You don’t think he was kidnapped, do you?!”

Ymir pondered Hanji’s question, massaging her chin with her index finger.

“In a sense,” she concluded.  “Yes.”

That instantly put Levi on edge.  “In a _sense_?” he bit out angrily.  Eren being taken against his will did not sit well with him.  “What the fuck does that even mean Ymir?!” 

Ymir groaned loudly. 

“Look short stack, don’t yell at _me_!  I told him to have this talk with you a long time ago!  That fucking idiot, I swear to god!”

Sawney hissed angrily at Levi, not liking the agitated sounds Ymir was making.  Levi let out an anxious breath.  Anger wouldn’t get him any answers, and whatever was occurring with the boy was not Ymir’s fault.  She was only trying to help and she was probably the only one who could, so Levi forced himself to calm down before he said anything he’d end up regretting later.

“Ok, I’m sorry.  You don’t have to tell me where he is if doesn’t want me to know,” he said quietly.  “I just need to know that he’ll be ok.  That’s all.  Please?”

She ran her fingers roughly through her hair, studying him, deciding what she would say. 

“I told him this might happen.  I told him he needed to speak to you exactly because of this very thing.  But he’s such an imbecile sometimes!  He was more concerned about what you might think of him.  He was really worried that you would be… _repulsed_ by him, I guess.  Those were his words, anyway.”

 

_I am an ugly monster, Levi…_

 

Levi still remembered how Eren had been scared to death of being seen in his demon form.  He supposed it was normal for him to want to keep things he considered unpleasant about himself a secret.  But if they were going to be together, he needed to know.   He needed to know everything about him, no matter how horrible it might be.  

Ymir must have seen the storming emotions in his eyes.

“As I said, I don’t think he left.  I think he was _forced_ away.  He’s a demon Levi!  I don’t think you truly understand what that entails,” she continued.  “I think he’s been summoned.  No, scratch that.  Someone _must have_ summoned him.  I honestly don’t think he’d willingly leave you.  So that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Summoned?” Levi forced out.  The word made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Yes.  He can be summoned away at any time for any reason,” she continued, getting defensive of her friend.  “That’s just the way things are for him, all right?  It’s not like he gets a choice, he can’t help it.  And he can’t change what he is any more than you or I can.”

“So, we just have to wait for him to complete his task and then we can summon him back here, right?” Hanji interjected hesitantly. 

His… _task_?  The word echoed inside his head.  What were demons usually summoned for?  What were they ‘tasked’ with?  He thought back to his night of drunken stupidity.  No, that was definitely not the normal thing they were summoned for.  One man’s drunken wish for revenge on his ex boyfriend was most likely a really stupid fluke in Eren’s otherwise illustrious career as a demon.   He really didn’t want to let his imagination wander, but he couldn’t stop it.  Demons were evil, weren’t they?  Therefore they did horrible things.  Was Eren evil?  Could he still love him knowing his hands were possibly- no, _most likely_ stained with blood?

“Yeah, he would be compelled back home after that,” Ymir answered Hanji.  “So we just have to wait.  I’ll try to contact him starting tomorrow.  Once he’s ready I’ll let you know and we can meet back here.”  She shot Levi a hostile look.  “Assuming that’s what you want.”

He decided he didn’t care.  In the back of his mind, he’d always known this was possible.  Heck, hadn’t he even offered to be his henchman?  It was said as a joke at the time, but thinking back he was sure he meant it even then.  The bottom line was, he loved Eren, and if it did turn out he was less than innocent, well he’d just have to cross that bridge when he got to it.  Right now he just really needed to know that Eren was ok.

“Yes, that is what I want,” Ymir visibly relaxed at his statement.  “But is there any way to know if he’s all right before that?”

 The thought of possibly having to wait days to find out the status of Eren’s well being made him sick to his stomach.  He didn’t care if had to wait for the brat to return.  No, that was a lie, he did care.  A hell of a lot, in fact.  But he needed to know that Eren was fine.  He wanted to know now, but he knew he’d have to settle for whatever information he could get. 

“No, unfortunately,” Ymir answered resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “It depends on what he was summoned for.  If it was something stupid, like a potion, then he’ll be done and fine by the end of the day.  But… it usually isn’t like that.  Humans are usually in a really dark place and feel like they have nothing to lose, like they have no other choice when they are willing to go so far as to summon a demon.  They know it’s a highly risky thing and wouldn’t take the chance unless they were getting something really big in return.  They have to know the considerable sacrifice on their part would be worth the payoff.”

“Ymir,” the stranglehold on his throat was making it really difficult for him to speak.  “He’s going to be all right, isn’t he?  He’s a supernatural being, so it’s not like he can be… _hurt_.  Can he?”

The grimace that flashed across her features dashed his hopes.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I think you deserve to know what you’re getting yourself into,” she said solemnly.  “Humans don’t normally want to die, Levi.  They will do anything to survive; they’ll fight tooth and nail.  Demons are much stronger than humans, yes, but even they are not immortal.  There is a very real chance Eren could get hurt.  Possibly even seriously hurt.  There’s also no guarantee that he’ll even be dealing with humans.  The magical community isn’t exactly brimming over with friendship and rainbows.  As a matter of fact, it’s in near constant conflict.  If you’re not hiding from it then you’re probably trying to take control of it. 

“The demon world is especially hostile.  It is built upon a hierarchy of power.   Whoever is strongest makes the rules.  Murder and betrayal are commonplace.  Crimes are committed without so much as batting an eyelash.  They don’t have feelings such as guilt, remorse and especially not empathy.  You’re either with or against the ruling demon and his or her supporters.   Loyal supporter or traitor, there is no middle ground and there is no such thing as a neutral party.  We witches barter and trade with the less hostile, more anonymous of the species but I’d be lying to you if I told you I’d ever want to exist in that dimension.  Hell no!”

Levi’s hands were trembling.  His heart was protesting what Ymir was revealing to him.  He couldn’t picture his brat existing in such a world.  No!  Eren didn’t belong there.  He belonged here, with him, at his side. 

“Whenever he’s summoned, he’s out of our reach.  It’s just not something we can control.  You need to be aware that this is a very real possibility that can happen at any time.  He should never have kept it from you.  I’m sorry.”

 

* * * * *

 

Levi walked slowly back to his condo through the park.  It was near dusk, so there wasn’t much danger of getting trapped into a conversation with an overly friendly, starved for human contact stranger now.  Although the weather had gotten considerably warmer, he wore black jeans, a dark grey hoodie, a black baseball hat and sunglasses.  He might’ve been miserable if it wasn’t for the cool breeze.  He had his earphones in, so no one would bother him thinking he wouldn’t be able to hear them anyway through the music of his iPod.  In actuality, he didn’t even have it turned on.  He was highly alert, paying attention to all details of his surroundings and analyzing any sound that seemed out of place.  So far everything was normal though.

He was almost home and it seemed this whole thing was going to be a complete bust.  He shifted the small paper bag of groceries he was holding to his other hand.  There was a flock of disgusting pigeons up ahead on the path.  He was just contemplating how he was going to get around them when a skateboard was suddenly kicked to a stop behind him.

“Levi!”

He turned around to find Connie almost right beside him.  He was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a loose tank top, showcasing his fit tanned body.  Levi wondered how he’d managed that when it was still spring.  He held his board in one arm and his backpack was slung over his shoulders, so Levi assumed he was just getting out of class.  He removed his glasses.

 “What’s up, Connie?” he greeted as cheerfully as he could manage.

The buzzed cut boy smiled widely and scratched the back of his head nervously.  Levi knew he intimidated most of Eren’s friends.  He tried to be more approachable, but he just wasn’t really good at it.

“I was just heading over to Jean’s, but since I ran into you, I thought it’d be the perfect chance to pass on a message.  We’re all going bowling tomorrow and you’re invited if you feel like joining us.”

Levi didn’t bother to hide his confusion.

“Didn’t Jean tell you that Eren was away visiting his family?”

Connie returned his confused look.

“Well, yeah.  He said he had to leave because of some kind of emergency and he accidentally forgot to take his phone with him.”

Levi stared at him, still not understanding.

“I’m inviting _you_ , you know,” Connie grinned.  “If you can’t make it, that’s cool.  But the guys really like hanging out with you.”

“Oh?” Levi was genuinely surprised.  He always felt more like a chaperone than one of the gang.  And he had always assumed the only reason he was even included in their activities was because of Eren.  “Sure.”  He accepted before he had the chance to second guess himself.

“Great!  I’ll text you the time and place…” having said that, Connie dropped his board back on the pavement and skated off with a quick wave. 

He’d scared off the pigeons with his noisy departure.  Levi took the opportunity to quickly walk past the area.  Those dirty birds would come back without fail.

\---

As he approached his home, he carefully took in the surroundings.  It was starting to get dark now, all his neighbors were inside.  There were still a few people out walking their dogs, but otherwise the streets were pretty empty.  The street lights would be turning on any moment.  Everyone would be settling in having dinner.  Nothing seemed unusual, nothing seemed out of place.  He sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he fished his keys out of his hoodie pocket and casually approached his door.

He was just about to step onto his doormat when the temperature suddenly dropped.  The air almost visibly chilled around him, he could suddenly see his own breath out in front of him.  He stopped immediately where he was, his body shivering violently.  This was most definitely not normal.

“Very interesting indeed!”

The high-pitched screechy voice was immediately behind him, speaking right into his ear.  He could feel the warm breath tickling his skin.  He hadn’t felt the presence of anyone in the vicinity at all let alone anywhere near him before he heard him.  Whoever this was, they had materialized out of thin air.  Levi turned around swiftly, finding himself face to face with an elderly looking man.  He was sickly pale in color, his skin edging on gray.  He had a full head of shoulder length snow white hair and a matching mustache reminiscent of Einstein.  He wasn’t much taller than himself, and could easily be dismissed as non-threatening. 

Anyone else might have done just that.

But Levi remembered Eren saying that was their goal.  They _wanted_ to appear this way so as not to give themselves away.  He steeled himself, keeping as calm as he could under the circumstances.  Besides the shift in temperature, there were a couple of other things that gave away the identity of the old man in front of him.  Although the eyes looked human enough, Levi could make out subtle differences in the way the orbs held light, the way they seemed to ‘see’ more than a normal eye could.  Then there was that half crazed expression of a predator when it has its intended prey in its sights.  Also, and probably the creepiest of all, his skin seemed to hum as though he was not used to having to contain himself in this form and could come undone at any given time.  Like he’d spontaneously explode and his true form would spill out of the human-like container.  Overall, he seemed like he was just not used to _being_ a normal human, and therefore was not able to pull it off effectively in front of someone who knew better. 

“Can I help you?” Levi said with a bored expression.

“Yes!” he squeaked excitedly.  The sound grated on Levi’s ears.   “You will be a very big help to me.  Come along now-”

The old man was just about to attack Levi when Ymir suddenly appeared beside him, chanting a phrase in a language he was not familiar with.  The old man shrieked when the pentagram came into full view, effectively trapping him.  He continued wailing angrily at the top of his lungs, banging on the walls of his temporary prison, charring up the skin of his bare hands.

“So he was telling the truth all along?” Levi mused.

Ymir rolled her eyes.  “How many times do you need to hear it?  That guy is crazy about you, dumbass.”

Levi couldn’t help the smile that crept into his face.  It faded quickly, however.

“I don’t get it,” he thought out loud.  “Why come after _me_ , though?  Why not just any other Joe off the street?”

“Eren said there’s something different about you, he noticed it right away.  He can’t tell what it is though.  For some reason, those that know you exist will be drawn to you.”

“Do you know…” he was almost afraid to ask.

“What?”

“Was this the first one?  Did they stay away when he was here?”

“They did,” she said proudly.  “Eren is a total idiot sometimes, but that doesn’t make him incompetent or incapable.   He is actually a very powerful demon, as hard as that may be to believe.  This is the first one I’ve seen around you,” she gesture to the old man.  “I’m sure he’s been hiding out, stalking you until he felt he had a good chance of catching you alone.  Pathetic coward!  He must be weak.  There are likely others, waiting for an opportunity.”

“You knew all along,” it wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” she answered anyway.  “I’ve been helping him keep an eye out this whole time.”

“Thank you,” he said sincerely.

“Shut up,” she scowled. 

They turned their attention back to the demon in the circle.  The invisible walls of the seal were smeared with thick liquid crimson patterns and splatters.  He’d beat himself badly trying to escape.  His wailing had never ceased.  Ymir chanted again and then the old man was gone, sent back to his own realm.  He disappeared, the pentagram with him, leaving absolutely no trace that anything had transpired there.

After thoroughly checking the area one more time, they went inside to make dinner and get ready for bed. 

Both Levi and Ymir had stayed the night at Dottie’s with Hanji at the older woman’s insistence.  Levi had been too worked up to be able to drive home safely and Ymir needed to keep an eye on him, so it just worked out better that way.  Hanji had furiously taken notes on everything they said or did.  She also made them watch scary movies, much to both their annoyance.  She justified herself saying it would take their mind off things.

It really didn’t help at all.

\---

Ymir tried to contact Eren, but as of yet had no luck.

\---

Later that night, Levi was lying in bed with Eren’s phone on the pillow next to him.  He’d never felt more lonely in his life and just wanted something that reminded him of the brat.  He dialed Eren’s number from his own phone, wondering what Eren had as a ringtone for him.

He chuckled lightly, though his eyes were wet and his throat burning when he heard Jamie Foxx belt out _Blame it on the Alcohol_ from the demon’s phone.

_Always such a brat!_

He disconnected before the voicemail recording came on, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself together if he heard his voice.  He called again and let the music lull him to sleep.

 

_Eren, you’d better be safe._

_You have to be._

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh... you thought this was a happy AU? Nope. Things have taken a darker turn. Be strong everyone!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos guys! I really didn't think anyone would care about this story, but wow you really surprised me!  
> I really really like reading your comments and theories, but don't always know what to reply??? I'm just socially inept sometimes...   
> (ok, a lot of the time) =\
> 
> Again, if you want to, feel free to harass me here: failed-litmus-test.tumblr.com


	16. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi goes bowling with the gang, but has a hard time enjoying himself.  
> Then he runs into Petra, who decides they need to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost wrote myself into a corner with this chapter and ended up having to rewrite half of it. =/  
> (It's still going to happen, but now is not the time...)
> 
> Also, it's really late again, so I hope there aren't too many errors. Eek!

* * *

 

“Gutter ball…” Jean declared lazily, taking a long sip of his beer. 

Levi glared at the stupid ball, trying to will it to go straight, but he knew.  They all knew.  It wasn’t going to happen.  Once the ball left your hand, you already knew what the outcome would be and that douche was right.  The ball hit the edge of the lane with a loud thump then it made its way unceremoniously down the gutter to the pit.

The hazel eyed boy had enjoyed making the call the first couple of times when it’d been obvious that Levi didn’t know what he was doing.  He’d been hooting and hollering, ridiculing the man trying to get some kind of reaction out of him, but Levi had only shrugged and kept to himself as always.  After noticing Levi’s somewhat dejected mood, the others had given Jean grief so he’d stopped.  They all offered up the secret to their techniques in an effort to help, but he just wasn’t catching on.  It’s not like he was horrible, he had more than enough strength and sometimes he managed to get a strike or most of the pins.  It was just that he couldn’t control the damn ball, so his results were inconsistent.  And ultimately, he just couldn’t bring himself to care, that’s probably what was keeping him from being able to absorb their advice. 

Bowling turned out to be much harder than he thought it would be.  Who knew there were so many different ball weights and finger hole sizes.  His fingers got roughed up quite a bit before he found a size and weight he was comfortable with.  He already had visible bruises on his thumb.  Those shoes though.  Oh man, he absolutely hated having to wear the disgusting, germ infested, fashion challenged, ridiculous ass shoes.  On top of that, he had to pay them money when they were the ones requiring him to wear those god awful shoes against his will in the first place?  It was ludicrous, it defied all reason and he was so done with the whole thing after barely having set foot inside.  He’d nearly left when he thought about how many people’s disgusting feet had worn the shoes before him, but the gang had pleaded with him to stay until he gave in.  And that had taken one trip to the pharmacy that was just a couple of stores down.  He’d bought foot spray and insoles, and he’d nearly used up the whole can spraying his shoes liberally as a precaution. 

He himself had never had the urge to go bowling before in his life and he kind of wondered why these brats even wanted to bowl in the first place.  What was the attraction to a sport it seemed to him was something middle aged or retired men would do, like golfing?  It became evident after the regular lights were turned off and black lights were turned on in their place transforming the atmosphere to one more like a night club.  A smoky mist came shooting out of the ground in random locations between lanes.  Screens came down from the ceiling and music videos came on with popular music at full blast.  So, he concluded, they didn’t really care so much about the bowling itself, it was more the socializing aspect.  Well, they were college kids, so he supposed that made sense.

They were all drinking beer, gossiping, making jokes; generally having a good old time like nothing was wrong.  Mikasa, who was the best bowler in the bunch, was helping Armin improve his aim.  She’d stand behind him and correct his posture, sneaking in a hug when she could, not that Armin minded at all if the way he was smiling was any indication.  Connie had to break Sasha away from the pizza every time her turn came up because she wasn’t really paying attention.  She’d give him a grateful peck every time for being so thoughtful making buzz cut fluster ever so slightly.  Ymir and Krista were talking about who knows what, with the petite blonde blushing and giggling every now and again.  Even Marco seemed to be very cozy with Jean talking about random shit.  Yeah, everyone had their significant other (it didn’t matter that Jean was still idiotically unaware Marco was his).  They were all happy, all oblivious to his plight, and he had to pretend he was fine.  Pretend nothing was wrong at all.  What could possibly be wrong?  Everything was just _fucking_ great!

He suddenly felt dizzy as his blood pressure spiked.

 

Ok… stop. 

 

Breathe. 

 

Levi ran his fingers nervously through his hair.  He had to make a conscious effort not let his emotions get the best of him. 

 

It’s not their fault. 

 

They don’t know.

 

Ymir kept shooting him worried side-glances.  He managed to put on a brave face like everything was ok, but he knew she was also looking when he didn’t have his guard up and she knew he didn’t have it all together.  The witch was similar to himself in that she preferred to stay out of other people’s affairs, but she would not hesitate to give her support _if_ it was needed.  Knowing she was there, knowing she wouldn’t push him to do things he didn’t want, like talk about what was bothering him, it was really a big help, and for that he was grateful.  But it wasn’t enough.  Nothing could be enough, only having Eren back could make things ok again. 

 

He gave a shaky sigh.

 

Psh.  Bowling.  Who could concentrate on something so mundane at a time like this when Eren could be in danger?    He could be hurt.  Or worse.  Dammit, he didn’t want to be here.  He’d wanted to cancel, but Ymir insisted he go and try to get his mind off things.  It had now been two full days since the demon had disappeared, or been ‘summoned’ as the case may be.  Today was day three and Ymir was still not able to get in contact with him, which frayed Levi’s nerves.  He tried to follow conversations when he was engaged, but he just couldn’t concentrate enough to remember what had been said just a moment ago.  He couldn’t do it.  He made up his mind to go home once this first game was over.  They were supposed to be here for at least two games, maybe more, but he wasn’t good company right now and he just wanted to be at home in case Eren somehow turned up there.

 

“Levi, is something wrong?” Marco suddenly was sitting beside him.

It took a while for Levi to snap to attention, focus on what his friend was saying.  Apparently the first game was over and now the boys were huddled around the screen making fun of each other’s scores and coming up with ridiculous names for themselves for the next game.  The girls were seated around the food table, gossiping and ordering more pizza. 

“What?” was the only response that popped into his head.  Brilliant.

Marco studied him briefly, his honeyed eyes showing a lot more concern than Levi felt he deserved.  “Well, I was noticing that you seem pretty preoccupied.  Like something has you seriously worried.  Is everything all right?  Did something happen with Eren?”

Levi’s throat constricted.  Dammit!  Why did Marco have to be so damn intuitive? 

“Oh, uh,” he hesitated, clearing his throat, trying to come up with something acceptable to say.  “Yeah, I haven’t heard from him, and I’m just worried.  That’s all.”

It was the truth, so he didn’t have to feel bad about lying to Marco.  He gave a nervous jump when Marco placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, effectively wrapping an arm around him.  It was not a big deal since they were friends, but he never figured the freckled faced boy was this touchy feely.  Plus, he thought he was super effective in conveying just how much he liked his personal space.  A hostile glare does mean don’t you fucking dare come near me, right?  He wondered what the kid was up to.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Levi,” he said in his ever comforting voice.  “If something was wrong, he’d find a way to tell you.  I’m sure of it.”  

“I don’t think he can communicate with me though.  Even if he wanted to,” Levi said glumly, earning him a confused look from Marco.  “It’s a really remote area and they’re not really caught up with technology.”

“Oh,” he said understanding.  “Well, I’m sure he’s just fine.  I’m sure you’re just worrying over nothing.”

He sounded so confident, and Levi wanted to believe him more than anything.  But since he had no idea what Eren was going through, his imagination had an easy time filling his mind with grim scenarios. 

“I also don’t think he would like seeing you worrying yourself sick over him,” he added.  “In fact, I’m sure that’s the last thing he would want.  I know I’d be upset if someone I cared about did that over me.  I mean, I’d like to think they could have a little more faith in me, you know.  I would want them to believe in me.  Believe that I can take care of myself, that I’ll be just fine.  He’ll be back before you know it.  You’ll see.”

He knew Marco was right, he needed to have more faith in Eren.  Ymir did say he was a really strong demon.  She also seemed really sure that Eren returned his feelings.  Eren would come back to him, he would.  He just had to believe in him.

He thanked Marco for trying to cheer him up and searched out Ymir to let her know he was leaving.  And that’s when his eyes briefly met with Jean’s.  Wait a minute.  It was brief, but Levi knew he wasn’t wrong.  Having been caught glaring, Jean averted his eyes quickly and returned his focus to the conversation he was having with the other guys.  Was that…?  Could he be…?  Was Jean _jealous_? 

He turned back to look at Marco, who was now fidgeting in his seat, trying to control the blush that threatened to crawl from his ears into his cheeks.  He looked up at Levi shrugging nervously, but the determination in his eyes was clear.  Well, well.  Maybe someone wasn’t such a big chicken after all.  Levi smirked at him, patting him on the shoulder before he said goodbye to everyone and headed to the cashier to return their shit shoes. 

He scratched the palm of his hand, finally noticing he’d been doing it absentmindedly the whole time he’d been at the bowling alley.  Cursing silently, he wondered if it was because of those disgusting shoes.  If those filthy things had given him some kind of a fungus, he was going to lose his shit.  He would return only to chew them out, to make sure they felt just as uncomfortable, if not more, than he did at the moment. 

Disgusting!

 

\---

 

Levi stood at the corner, staring at the park not really knowing what he wanted to do.  He’d driven home, thinking it would ease his mind to be there like he’d wanted, but once he’d gotten there he couldn’t stand it.  It was so irritatingly quiet and depressing; every space in his condo a painful reminder that Eren was not there with him.  So he didn’t want to be in the company of his new friends, but he didn’t want to be alone either.  What option did that leave?  He frowned.  When had he become so indecisive? 

He thought about possibly taking a walk in the park.  Maybe the fresh air, the soothing embrace of mother nature would relax him.  Thought almost became action, but the noise of impending children scared the crap out of him.  He abruptly left the park after not having ventured in more than a few feet.  No, he couldn’t risk that.  Kids were just fucking annoying.  He could take a leisurely walk to the nearest coffee shop.  Maybe being around strangers (not children though) would ease the overbearing weight of his thoughts right now.  He needed to _not_ think, to stop pondering, to just vegetate.  But dammit, he didn’t know how to stop.  How did other people manage it?

Scratch, scratch. 

Ugh!  He’d washed his hands, scrubbing until they were raw as soon as he’d gotten home, but his left palm was still itchy.  Forget the fucking lecture, he was going to tie up that cashier, find the gunkiest, dirtiest, messed up pair of bowling shoes they had in the place and rub them all over his arms and hands until he cried. 

 

\---

 

He did end up walking to the coffee shop, but had no intention of staying there.  He didn’t have his laptop or anything else that could serve to repel a potential unwanted conversation with a stranger.  Once he got his drink, he would just wander around the neighborhood until he tired himself out.  This part of town was unfamiliar to him, only because he never took the time to venture out and see what was around him.  Now was as good a time as any to get acquainted with the part of the city he called home. 

“Levi?”

He was standing near the bar waiting for his iced coffee, when he heard the familiar voice beside him.  Considering the circumstances and his current mood, this was probably not the best time for him to have run into her.  But at the same time, maybe his worn patience would give him the edge to finally clear up the situation. 

“Petra,” he said simply giving her a curt nod.

She looked great as always, dressed cute as a button with her tan shirt dress and red accessories.  No one would guess anything was ever wrong just by looking at her.  Her strawberry blonde shoulder length hair was perfectly brushed, long bangs swept to the side, her make-up flawless.  It was only when you looked into her large doe eyes that you could see she was less than composed, the conflicting emotions evident in their amber depths. 

“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked hesitantly.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve been avoiding me.  Maybe we need to clear the air...or something.”

Oh, yes.  They definitely needed to talk. 

“Yeah, that’s fine.  I’m kind of out on a walk though, if you don’t mind joining me.”

“No, t-that’s fine,” she stuttered. 

Hmm?  Petra didn’t usually stutter that Levi could recall.  She must be nervous.

They got their drinks and left the coffee shop, heading back towards Levi’s condo.  Petra was the first to break the awkward silence.

“So,” she cleared her throat.  “How come you don’t answer my calls or my texts?  Are you mad at me?”  She gave a short humorless laugh, not giving him time to answer before she continued.  “What am I even saying?  Of course you’re mad at me!  I knew you would be, but I thought you’d be over it by now.  I mean, you know I’m just trying to help.  Right?”

He stopped and turned to look at her eye-to-eye, trying to weigh what he was going to say before he stuck his foot in his mouth.  Petra kept her gaze steady on him, all traces of her earlier nervousness gone, her jaw set in determination.

 “You’re right, I was mad,” he conceded.  “And maybe I still am, but I think you know why.  I mean, imagine my surprise at having Erwin just turn up at my front door out of the blue one day.  It was not something I was expecting to happen.  _Especially_ considering that the only person I trusted with my new address was supposedly my friend.”

Her eyes widened, her composure shifting to nervous tension.

“What?  Anyone can look up your address.  Real estate is a public record, you know.”

“Yeah, I do know that, actually,” he huffed.  “That’s why it’s not in my name _.”_  

“Oh,” she said simply, turning her gaze to the ground in front of her. 

“I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised,” he continued.  “You and eyebrows seemed really chummy back at Nick’s.  It kind of left me wondering when you’d become his best friend and not mine.”

“What?” she gasped, a little worried and a little indignant.  “We’re _all_ friends, Levi.  You have to understand that you boys have put me in an awkward position.  It’s not easy being the one stuck in the middle.”

True.  

He walked on heading towards the park, Petra right alongside him.

“I guess it would be childish of me to expect that you’d take my side just because we’ve been friends longer,” he sighed. 

“Um _yeah_ , that’s a little unfair!  I care about all you guys, so…it’s a little hard to know what to do sometimes.”

“Ok then,” he released a nervous breath.  “But, just so there are no misunderstandings in the future, I guess I should let you know that I have no intention of getting back together with Erwin.”

She turned her head slightly, appraising him silently for a moment.

“There’s someone else, isn’t there?” she asked, a tentative smile playing tugging at the corners of her lips.

Oh what the hell.  She’d find out eventually, and if she found out from someone else he would never hear the end of it.

“Yes, I’ve met someone.”

Her eyes became as large as saucers with surprise.

“Wow!  You work _fast_ , Levi,” she smirked.  “I have to say… I suspected as much.  But how come you didn’t just tell me before?”

He couldn’t tell if she was teasing or judging.

“It kind of _just_ happened, actually.  We weren’t together before.”

“And now you are?   Whoah-” she grabbed his arm, turning him so she could face him.  “Whoah, wait a minute.  Excuse me Levi… are you _blushing_?!”

“Fuck off Petra,” he muttered uncomfortably, swatting her hand away.  “It does happen sometimes you know.”

Her incredulity only increased with his reaction.  “Not to you it doesn’t!  Oh my god.  Levi!”

She was grinning from ear to ear.  It was hard to look at her when she had such a stupid expression.  He scowled and turned away to spare her the embarrassment.

He cringed when she suddenly assaulted him with a hug.  A small part of him that had been tense this whole time unwound with relief.  As much as he pretended not to care, he’d missed her friendship and was glad they could have moments like this again.

“Oh my god, Levi!” she repeated with a high pitched squeal.  “When do I get to meet him?”

When indeed?  Fuck.

“Uh, he’s away visiting family right now, so… maybe when he gets back?”

“You’d better!” she teased.  “I can’t wait to see who managed to creep their slimy little way into your cold, cold heart!  Ha ha!”

“Shut up,” he mumbled, shoving her away.

 

\---

 

They’d ended up talking for quite a while after that, sitting on one of the park benches near the lake, tossing crumbs at the ducks.  It was painfully cliché, really.  All they were missing was the stupid sunset in the background, but the days were growing longer and there were still a couple of hours of daylight left.  They talked about dumb things, normal things friends talk about when they were catching up.  Levi told her about his new car.  Petra told him her relationship with Auruo was probably not going to work out, but she wasn’t ready to go into details of that.  Not yet.  Levi assured her she could do better.  Petra asked what was up with his hand rash.  He had been subconsciously scratching his palm the whole time and she’d noticed.  He told her his theory about the bowling alley shoes and she laughed hysterically.

When she left, he checked his phone for messages and nearly ran home when he noticed one particular text message from Ymir that had been sent just a few minutes earlier.

 

**Ymir:**   Short stack!  Are u home???  

**Ymir:**   If not, head there now!  I’ll meet u.  Eren’s ready.

 

When he got there, Ymir was already waiting, leaning against the building with her arms crossed.  Her usual scowl transformed into a teasing lop-sided smile when she noticed he was huffing and puffing.

“Aw.  Did you run all the way here?” she asked not bothering to hide her amusement.

“Shut up,” he panted, hands on his hips, walking around slowly to cool down.  “Just give me a minute and I’ll drive us to Dottie’s.”

She rolled her eyes. 

“You know, it’s not really safe for you to be running all around town.  I can’t teleport like he can, so you need to stay close by.”

“I was with a friend, so I figured it’d be safe,” he said defensively.  He conveniently left out the part where their meeting wasn’t planned and he had indeed been running around town by himself before that.  “I didn’t notice anything suspicious,” he added for good measure.

She looked non-plussed, but let the subject drop.

“Here,” she held out a hand.  “Give me your keys, I’ll let us in.  It will give you a moment longer to catch your breath, grandpa.”

He reached into his pocket digging out his keys.  He was just about to drop them into her hand when she suddenly seized his wrist and turned his hand over, palm side up.  She gasped loudly, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head when she saw the rash.

“What the _fuck_ Levi!” she demanded to the shorter man’s confusion.

“It’s not my fault!” he bit out.  “I told you guys I didn’t trust those dingy, moldy, fungus infested shoes.  But no-”

“What?” she was puzzled now.  “No, shut up.  That’s not it.  Do you even know what this _is_?”

She shoved his hand closer to his face so he could see the rash more clearly.

“A rash,” he said sarcastically because he had no idea what she could possibly be getting at.

“Idiot!” she gritted out.  “This is a demon mark, Levi.  How long have you had it?  I didn’t notice it before.”

“I didn’t have it before,” he answered nervously now.  “I got it when I was at the bowling alley with you guys.  That’s why I thought it was a filthy rash.”

She eyed him suspiciously, but not like she thought he was up to no good.  More like she was realizing something just now.

“If that’s true,” she started, slowly breaking out into a grin.  “Then you must have gotten this from Eren.  You’ve probably had it this whole time, but didn’t notice.  It must have started burning when he was compelled back to the demon realm.”

Levi inspected his palm more closely.  He really hadn’t noticed before, but now that the idea was in his head, it did look like there was a distinct pattern to his rash.  Three long slashes, like claw marks.  This was Eren’s demon mark?  What did it mean that he had one?  He looked up at Ymir questioningly.  She chuckled darkly.

“So,” she snickered.  “What did you promise him, short stack?”

“What do you mean?” he huffed indignantly.  “I don’t remember promising him anything.”

She finally let go of his wrist, but only to cover her mouth, stifling her laughter.

“Aw, you don’t remember!  Alcohol sure is a funny thing isn’t it?”

Oh god.  Not _that_ night again.  Was he never going to live it down?

Levi glowered at her.

“Well, you must have promised him _something_!Don’t worry about it, though.  I’m sure Eren will be _more_ than happy to remind you when the time comes.  Ha ha ha!”

Levi's could feel his face overheating.  He cursed silently.

 

Damn it. 

 

He really needed to stop drinking.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know what to expect for next chapter~
> 
> O_o


	17. Homecomings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is summoned back...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the length of this chapter kind of got out of control. I was tempted to divide it into two chapters...but then- nah, lazy. 
> 
> I finished most of it pretty quickly actually, but then the end of the chapter....uh. Well...  
> Either I'm sorry...  
> or you're welcome!

* * *

 

“You _have_ to do it, Ymir!” Hanji whined.  “I can’t exactly observe myself if I’m the one doing it.  Come on!  Pleeeeaaasssee?”

The bespectacled scientist was kneeling on the basement floor, her hands beseechingly clutching Ymir’s jeans in the most fucking annoying tantrum Levi had ever seen this side of puberty.  He was standing off to the side fidgeting with his hoodie strings, too nervous to sit down or even stand still.

“Come oooooonnnnn….!”

Sawney lifted his head from the couch cushion, meowling in loud protest of the messy haired woman’s whining.  His throat thick with sleep lent the screech he’d choked out an industrial quality, like gears grinding to a halt.  But even that did nothing to stop her blathering.  She was truly heartless to subject helpless animals to her idiocy like this, even if said animal was in actuality an adulterous human male.

Levi, who was standing immediately beside him, turned to the pudgy marmalade and asked, “You’ve seriously never thought of just smothering her in her sleep?” 

Sawney turned to him and Levi could swear the feline’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, you’ve considered it.  I can tell,” he deadpanned.  “More than once too, I’m betting.  You probably don’t even need a pillow with all that fluff you’re lugging around either.”

The tabby turned his attention to Hanji.  Glasses had managed to ensnare one of Ymir’s wrists and the witch was struggling to wrench herself free.  He narrowed his eyes in disapproval at the scene before him before returning his attention to Levi.  His eyes took on an amused expression, gleaming conspirationally, if that was even possible for a cat to do.  Levi wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, but he found it funny nonetheless. 

“Heh,” he smirked.

Sawney cocked his head, blinking in agreement.

 

\---

 

Dottie, who seemed to have her wits about her again today, had greeted him wide a wide smile and only the faintest trace of alcohol.  He couldn’t even be sure if it was her usual bourbon or something else entirely.  He’d given her the quickest of hugs, hoping he’d be able to keep her from noticing his disgusting hand, but she’d caught on that something was up, either by women’s intuition or motherly instinct, he didn’t know.  What he did know, was that she first opened her arms fully and then wrapped them tightly around him engulfing him in a vice-like squeeze.  It was the longest, most physically painful bear hug he’d experienced to date.  It had also effectively scared the shit out of him for a second.  When she finally let go, he was in such a state of wonderment it’d taken him a minute to compose himself making Dottie laugh so hard she shook.  As soon as he’d hidden his hand behind his back she’d zeroed in on the action like a hawk and demanded to see it.  Her nose had wrinkled in revulsion the second her keen eyes landed on the irritated appendage. 

“Honey, we need to get some cortisone cream on this mess!  Wherever did you pick up this disgusting little problem?” she’d inquired taking charge of his treatment like a mother hen.  “Is it poison oak?  It is, isn’t it?  You just have to remember, leaves of three let it be.”

He knew what it really was now, but there was no way he could tell her that, so he stuck to his original hypothesis.

“My friends made me go bowling with them,” he blurted out, feeling like a snitch for ratting out his friends.  _His_ friends.  That still felt a little weird inside his brain.  But anyway, someone had to take the fall. 

She took hold of his sleeve, avoiding direct contact with his skin and led him to the bathroom.  The short man followed along complacently, knowing she’d lecture him if he resisted.

“They made me wear rented shoes,” he added, emphasizing his revulsion.

“Oh no!   I’m sorry sweetie, but that is just _nasty_ ,” she’d declared shaking her head, her face scrunched up in disgust.  “You know… my church group wanted to take up bowling, but I put a stop to that real quick.  I told them I would not have any part of it.  I said; ‘I’ll stick to my card night, thank you very much!’  Tch!  Cards are _so_ much easier to keep clean.”

She’d dabbed some cortisone cream on his palm with a cotton ball in an effort to calm the burning itch.  When she asked, he’d remarked on how soothing it made his skin feel, but it hadn’t really done anything.  Not that he’d expected it to; it wasn’t really a rash after all.  His answer must have been satisfactory enough, because Dottie visibly relaxed upon hearing it.  Seeing that the cream had done nothing about the abused condition of his skin, raw and irritated from his constant scratching, made her purse her lips in disapproval.  She’d tsk’d loudly and wrapped his hand snug in gauze to make sure he wasn’t able to get at it anymore. 

“You know, like one of those cones they put over a dog’s head at the vet,” she’d teased, giggling mischievously.  

Levi had to press his lips together to avoid scowling at her.

 

\---

 

He cradled his hand gingerly recalling her words earlier, sighing softly in humiliation. 

He didn’t miss the mirth in Ymir’s eyes even though Hanji seemed to be pretty damn oblivious to it.  The witch had been planning on executing the summoning herself the whole time, but she’d led four eyes to believe she wanted no part in it just to see her sweat.  And sweat Hanji did.  Literally, he noted in disgust.  She’d wanted to record the whole thing, which neither Levi nor Ymir wanted any part of.  Audio and or visual, they wouldn’t consent to any type of recording no matter how much she claimed it was for science.  He could just imagine coming across the potential video on the internet one day labeled as ‘truth or hoax?’  Of course he’d kill her.  In his eyes, he was really doing Hanji a kindness, practically saving her life really, by _not_ allowing this in the first place.

“Ok, fine,” Ymir finally relented grinning down at Hanji from ear to ear.

“Fucking finally!” Levi huffed.

Ymir shrugged innocently.

He flinched when Hanji suddenly came at him wielding a dagger. 

“Levi, you’re the least squeamish of us,” she held out her hand beckoning him to surrender his.  “So here, give me your blood.”

Oh yeah, he’d forgotten this part.  Thinking back, he must have done this that other night as well.  But he didn’t have a wound or scar from that day that he could remember.  That was odd, he supposed.  Well, he was about to fill in some of those blanks tonight, so no sense in dwelling on that now. 

And Hanji was right, of course.  The sight of his own blood did nothing to his psyche.  Whenever he bled, he was like: oh, there goes my blood.  Hmm, how did that happen?  He wished he could do it himself though, he didn’t like the maniacal look of Hanji hovering over him with such a sharp object.  Somehow the sight of her with a blade seemed wrong, he was better able to picture her doing this with an exacto knife if he was being honest.  The gauze wrapped around his hand (keeping his canine impulses at bay apparently) of course prevented him from being able to do so.  He grasped her wrist making sure to squeeze it with all his might until Hanji grimaced. 

“A-ah!  Levi!” she yelped.

“Come on,” he ignored her.  “We need to do this closer to where Ymir’s standing.”

“Right,” Hanji croaked out painfully, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Hanji held his hand steady as she first punctured his skin with the tip, dug in, then dragged the blade slightly across the smooth expanse of his palm.  The bright red blood first appeared to form a mound of sorts at the area of the incision; it then trickled slowly down his palm like tiny rivers, crimson liquid oozing slowly towards the ground.  Levi got down on one knee, and traced the outline of the pentagram Ymir had drawn earlier with his bloody hand, making sure to get every detail precisely right.  He hoped Dottie had snacks ready for them because he was starting to feel slightly woozy with the blood loss. 

The instant he was done closing the circle- connecting the last line, the pentagram lit up with its iridescent smoke of crimson and mossy green patterns.  At the same time, Levi’s palm started to smoke lightly in those same colors, the wound closing and healing in time to the circle being cast.  His eyes widened in surprise.  Almost as quickly as it had lit up, the pentagram faded taking with it all the smoke and lights.  The pattern disappeared on the floor, leaving it bare as if nothing had transpired.

Oh, so that’s what happened.

He stepped back, to give Ymir room to work.  She gazed at him from the other side of the pentagram, a bland expression on her face.

“You ready?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Hanji squealed throwing her hands up in the air. 

Ymir stared at her blankly for a second before turning back to Levi, decidedly ignoring the brunette.    Levi just nodded, too nervous to say anything. 

The air grew thick around Levi, his breathing becoming labored.  He knew it was just his nerves; nothing was really going on yet.  But Levi could not contain himself.  Eren was coming back and he’d never wanted something more in his life.  He had just realized the extent of his feelings for the demon when he’d disappeared.  At the risk of sounding corny, Levi felt like he finally understood when people referred to their significant others as being the sunshine in their life.  Eren, with his bright eyes, his infectious smile, and his endearing boyish ways had managed to become the personal sun that heated Levi’s heart.  Everything about him, the way he looked at him like everything that came out of Levi’s mouth was of the utmost importance, the calming sound of his rambling voice like white noise, the warm calming touch of his skin that never failed to sooth his nerves, even the times when he was driving Levi up a wall with his antics, brought him a warm sense of serenity.  Just having the kid around gave Levi a feeling of security he’d never before imagined was possible for a sarcastic, antisocial, foul tempered guy like himself.  He’d been at peace for what felt like the first time in his life. Eren made him feel like it was ok to be himself, like he was enough. 

No, _more_ than enough.  Eren made him feel like he was special.  Like he was a gift the boy could never get enough of. 

It was intoxicating.

If Levi didn’t feel the same way about Eren, the demon's obvious infatuation with him would just be awkward.  Perhaps annoying and maybe creepy.  But he did, very much so.  It was scary as hell how much he cared for the guy.  Out of all the people out there; out of all the taller, better looking, definitely way better tempered guys there were in this world (and may be even in the demon realm for all Levi knew); Eren wanted to be with _him_ and it was just overwhelming as fuck.

Oh god.  He was going to be sick.

“Earth to Levi!”

Oh shit, he’d zoned out. 

Ymir was trying to get his attention, hand on hip, incredulous glare boring down into his very soul.  Yeah, she may have been slightly pissed at the moment.

“Sorry,” he uttered.

She mumbled something too softly for him to hear, rolling her eyes. 

“Nevermind.  I’m going to start now, so be ready.”

He nodded in affirmation.  Hanji did as well, pen in one hand, notebook in the other, dangerous glint in her glasses, getting ready to scribble away like the madwoman she was.

Ymir straightened her back, took a deep cleansing breath then slowly began chanting the summoning spell.  Her words were low, drawn out and heavily enunciated to assure there was no mistake possible in the spell she meant to cast.  The pentagram lit up with her words.  It was dim at first then slowly began gaining intensity with the spell’s progression.  When she was near the middle, the smoke started to swirl again, getting thicker and thicker.  The lights in the basement flickered, threatening to give out altogether with all the activity.  Levi and Hanji kept very still, afraid to make a sound or sudden move lest they disturb Ymir and disrupt the summoning. 

When she was nearing the end, a light breeze engulfed her, making the loose strands of her hair dance around her head.  Bright flashes of electricity emanated from the outer edges of the circle, ripping the fabric of the air itself, crackling angrily in their release. 

Ymir raised her voice for the last part of the spell, putting an emphasis on the final words.  Her eyes were wide, her expression maniacal, heady with the power surging through her. 

When the final syllable of the last word spilled forth from her mouth, the lights went out for a suffocating moment, the room was eerily illuminated by the hot blue light of simultaneous electrical discharges within the pentagram’s confines.   After a deafening roar, the lights came back on, the smoke dissipated and the only thing left of the circle was the sticky leftover mess of Levi’s boiled blood.  In the center of the circle was a human figure, but no one Levi recognized.  His stomach clenched in disappointment, until his brain reminded it that this _could_ still be Eren.

It was a male, and well that was a start.  He was about six feet tall, he had a head full of thick luxurious wavy black hair, and smooth olive skin.  Mediterranean perhaps, Levi thought.  There was definite stubble on his jaw and chin, he had thick dark eyebrows and very well groomed side burns.  He imagined he’d also have thick dark eyelashes and either brown eyes, soft like suede or hazel eyes, faceted like a jewel.  He couldn’t tell yet because the man had appeared facing Hanji.  Glasses was frozen in place, smiling like an idiot, her notebook temporarily forgotten.  Her outright ogling was a little embarrassing.  But this was Hanji, and he’d long ago accepted that there was nothing to be done other than offer the hormonal woman a napkin for the excess drool. 

The man smiled back friendly enough, but otherwise did nothing to give away that he might know the brunette.  Hanji at that moment seemed to regain her composure at least a little and turned to look at Levi.  The man turned his head following her gaze and when his large hazel eyes landed on Levi they widened in shock.  He looked like the wind had been knocked out of him.  His entire face contorted in emotion, his eyes glistened with moisture.  At that instant, Levi knew, he just knew that the man in the circle was Eren.  His mind didn’t even register that he was moving before he flung himself into the taller man’s arms.  Luckily, Ymir had broken the circle so Levi didn’t have to go through the embarrassment of ruining their moment by getting zapped like a bug had he hit the pentagram wall.  Eren scooped him up into his arms, transforming immediately back into the old form Levi was familiar with.  They held each other fiercely, getting as much physical contact as they could, each making sure the other was real.  They relished in feeling the warmth of each other, being able to breathe in each other’s scents again, clutching each other shamelessly with a silent desperation, afraid to let go.

“Levi,” he choked out softly with a broken voice.  “You brought me back.”

Levi didn’t like the disbelief he heard in the demon’s voice.  He turned his face which he’d buried into the boy’s neck to gaze upon him, cupping Eren’s cheek softly with his good hand.

“Eren look at me,” he said tenderly.  Eren did look straight into Levi’s eyes and what he saw there made liquid pool at the corners of his eyes.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

His eyes widened slightly, he gasped almost inaudibly before breaking out into a wide grin.  His tears were given free reign and slid down his cheeks now unchecked.  He leaned down giving Levi a lingering kiss on his forehead, then a small peck to each eye (which is how Levi realized he’d also been teary eyed) and then a small peck to the tip of his nose.  He pulled back to look deeply into Levi’s eyes again, smiling like an idiot.

“I love you,” he blurted out shyly, keeping his gaze on Levi’s, resting his forehead against the shorter man’s.

If ever there was a time to spontaneously combust, now was that time.  Levi felt like he was trapped in a bubble through which no sound could be heard, only the loud thumping of his erratic heart.  His body felt like it was melting, like it was no longer held together by bones. 

He’d _said_ it.  It was _real_.  He no longer had to suppose, or second guess, or imagine what was going through Eren’s mind.  He knew now because he’d said it and there was no going back.  Eren loved him and Levi never imagined he would ever feel so insanely, ridiculously happy in his life.

The present slowly came back to him when he felt his face hurt.  Fuck, he must be smiling like an idiot, too.  He gave a shaky laugh before admitting something he’d been afraid he wouldn’t be able to say so easily.  But it turned out he could.

“I love you too.”

 

\---

 

“Ahem.”

Ymir coughed loudly, breaking the spell of their moment. 

“Oh my god, get a room,” she ribbed, looking off to the side as if the comment wasn’t directed at them.

“No!” Hanji interjected.  “Don’t interrupt them, Ymir.  They’re too adorable,” she was scribbling frantically in her notebook.  “Plus this is really fascinating!”  

Damn.  He’d totally forgotten they had an audience.  Eren hugged him tightly, obviously not caring who saw what. 

“Eren,” Levi started to protest. 

The boy laughed lightly, noticing the pink in the shorter man’s cheeks. 

“Right, sorry.”

He reluctantly released his hold, his eyes never leaving those of the man he loved.  Levi immediately missed the warmth of his lover’s skin pressed against him, but he didn’t want to give shitty glasses and that witch any more of a show.  Eren brushed his hand against Levi’s, tentatively holding it, waiting to see if he’d be told to knock it off.  When he met no resistance, he hesitantly intertwined their fingers, his hold loose on Levi’s digits in case the man snatched his hand away.  Levi squeezed Eren’s hand as a way of reassurance.  The demon squeezed back, relieved at not being rejected.

“So, Eren baby,” Hanji suddenly blurted.  “What, exactly, were you summoned for this time?”

Eren visibly tensed.  He lowered his eyes hoping Levi wouldn’t see the emotions in his eyes. 

“I’d rather not talk about it,” the words rushed out of his mouth.   He took a quick breath before nervously adding, “if that’s ok?”

“Of course,” Ymir answered him.  “You can fill Hanji in later.”

Glasses huffed in disappointment, but she didn’t press the issue.

Ymir rested a hand on Eren’s shoulder.  Levi did not miss the way the boy flinched ever so slightly.

“I told him,” she said sternly.  Eren’s head snapped up immediately.  He regarded the witch icily, his body language screaming of betrayal.  “Don’t even start with me, demon!” she hissed.  “You should have done it yourself _way_ before now.  He was almost taken.”

He turned to face Levi again, his eyes unreadable.

“You,” he was having a hard time forming the words he wanted to say.  “Y-you were attacked?”

“Almost,” Levi saw no point in lying.  Ymir would just tell him anyway.

The demon gasped loudly.  He relaxed his hand, slowly releasing his hold of Levi’s fingers.  Levi grasped them firmly, not missing how they trembled, keeping him where he was.  Eren closed his eyes, his face scrunching up in pain.

“How?” he asked softly.  “How can you still want this?”

Levi furrowed his brows.  Was that a rhetorical question?

“When I was returned to my realm, I was so scared,” he continued, his voice shaky.  “I was worried that you _wouldn’t_ summon me back.  That you’d come to your senses and realize how dangerous this really was.  And there’s no set timeline for when someone will summon me again.  It’s completely haphazard, we are at the mercy of humanity’s whims.  Who knows when I’d get summoned again, it could be months, years… decades.  What if by the time I was able to get back, you’d already grown old, moved on; lived your life with someone else?  The thought of it made me physically ill.”  He ran his fingers nervously through his hair, exhaling loudly.  “But at the same time, you would be better off.  You’d have a normal life.  You’d be safe.”

“Eren-”

“You were _attacked_ Levi, and you still brought me back?  Do you realize what would have happened to you if you were taken to my realm?  I feel like such utter _shit_!  You shouldn’t want this!”  

Anger burned within Levi.  If the demon was looking for an out well that was too bad, he wasn’t going to give him one so easily.  After everything he’d gone through, all the anguish of these past few days, if Eren thought he’d just let him go, just like that, he was dead wrong.

“You said I’d drawn attention to myself by summoning you in the first place,” he said accusingly. “So even if you didn’t come back, I’d still be in the same situation, would I not?”  Eren seemed surprised to hear this from Levi, but said nothing.  “At least this way, you can keep protecting me.  Isn’t that what you said you were doing before?  Protecting me?  What’s changed that you don’t want to do it now?”

Eren’s eyes filled with tears again.

“Maybe… maybe I’m the one you need to be protected from.”

“Eren, I love you and I trust you!  We wouldn’t be standing here right now if I didn’t.”

“Levi…”

“No!  You need to listen to _me_.  If this is going to work, I need you to trust me too.  You can’t keep hiding things from me.  I need to know everything.  You don’t have to tell me all at once, but for now...”

He snaked his arms around the boy keeping a close eye on his reaction before squeezing him into a hug.  He did not miss the grimace Eren tried to suppress.

“I want to see you, the _real_ you.  I want to see what happened to you.”

Eren stared at him for a moment.  He couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes, but finally he let his disguise fall and he morphed into his demon form, growing noticeably taller; his hair turning black and growing slightly longer.  His eyes became the golden cat eyes he remembered.  His pale skin, it was… Levi gasped, his eyes going wide when he saw the cuts and bruises peeking out from Eren’s shirt.  His face was also bruised and covered in scratch marks along with his neck.  Levi lifted his shirt, afraid of what he’d find there, but at the same time needing to know.  The girls gasped loudly beside them and he was pretty sure he did too.

“Oh my god!” he heard Hanji exclaim.

His torso was bruised and beaten like the rest of him, Levi had somehow expected that.  However, near where his lower abdomen met his pants, he had what looked to be a deep knife wound.  Someone had meant for that to be a fatal blow, he could tell.  Eren was still here, so they didn’t get their wish.  It was not bleeding, not anymore, but it didn’t look like it’d been treated at all.  If he’d been human, he would have bled to death or at the very least it would be oozing with such infection that Eren should be paralyzed with fever.  But the stupid boy was standing in front of him pretending nothing was wrong.  Levi reached over to the wound.  He felt like he wanted to touch the wound, make sure it really wasn’t still open, but he stopped himself.  He let his fingers hover near the area for a moment.

“Who did this to you?” he growled angrily.  He was a little surprised at his own reaction, but yes he was fucking angry.  He was so pissed he was almost shaking.  Someone had tried to kill Eren, _his_ Eren, and as irrational as it sounded even to himself, he wanted to make sure they regretted it.

Eren caressed Levi’s chin then lifted it so he could meet his eyes.

“Levi,” he seemed confused.  “I was summoned to kill a human.  As always, I have no idea what their reasoning was for it, or what the situation was.  The man was big, tall and built like a brick wall.”

And maybe that was the only reason he’d even managed to hurt him.  Ok, he could understand that.  But…

“So, he’s dead right?”

The demon’s golden eyes glowed.  He was still disconcerted, but at the same time he seemed like he was trying to hide a…smirk?

“Yes.”

Levi could see Eren was maybe a little bewildered so he did what anyone else would in his shoes.  He needed to comfort the man he loved.

“It’s not your fault,” he said calmly, evenly.

“What?! But-”

“Do you get a choice in the matter?” Levi glared up at him stubbornly. 

“N-no…”

“Was it your decision?  Did you wake up that day and decide, ‘hey- I’m going to kill that man, that particular man, because why not?’”

“No, but-”

“Are you able to control what you do?”

“N-no…  No!  It’s dark magic.  I can’t control anything.”

“Then I don’t know why we’re even arguing about this, Eren,” he said with an air of finality.  “Come on.”  He tightened his grip on the boy’s hand and urged him forward.  “Let’s get you home so I can at least sterilize this mess.”

“But, Levi-”

“Eren, it’s not like we can do it here.  The last time Dottie saw you she tried to shoot you, remember?  Or have you already forgotten?”

Eren chuckled despite himself.  Sawney chose that moment to meow in protest.  Levi rolled his eyes.

“Do I really have to remind you how that was completely your fault, furball?”

The marmalade narrowed his eyes and twitched his tail before getting up and leaving, presumably highly offended.

“How did-” Eren started, then cut himself off.  “Wait, nevermind.  Levi, it’s not necessary for you to treat my wounds.  Human medicine wouldn’t really do anything for me anyway.”

“Oh,” Levi paused.  “Would it be better if you were in your own realm?  Would you be able to get treatment over there?”

Levi frowned.  He didn’t want the boy to leave, but he was genuinely concerned. 

“No!” Eren quickly rejected the idea.  “It’d be the same.  I’d rather be here with you.”

“That’s not what I was asking,” Levi said, his lips turning up slightly.  “I was just saying that if it would be better…but if it’s the same, then it doesn’t matter.  Let’s just get you home.”

“Home?”  Eren asked.

“Well, yeah,” Levi answered not understanding the question.

 

Eren smiled.

 

\---

 

Eren had snuck out the back while Levi had said his farewells to Dottie and Hanji.  Hanji begged him to take careful notes about every single detail of Eren’s healing process.  He could only glare at her and that only made her giggle. 

He thanked Ymir for helping him, to which she replied, “Just take care of him, short stack,” before she left.

It was night time by the time they got home.  Levi still cleaned and treated Eren’s wounds.  He didn’t care that it wouldn’t do anything for the healing process; he just felt better knowing it was done.  There wasn’t any time to cook, so he ordered them Chinese take-out.  After dinner they snuggled on the couch for a bit watching TV; then went to bed. 

Eren slept in his full demon form, stating it would help him heal quicker if he didn’t have to expend any energy keeping up his human appearance.  Levi said he was fine with that.  He was worried he might have a hard time sleeping himself if Eren’s wings kept brushing up against him, but that turned out to not be the case.  _So_ not the case.  He woke up to find Eren cradling him against his chest, his arms wrapped around him possessively, his wings enveloping him gently, their soft warmth making the blankets that were now kicked onto the floor unnecessary.

He smiled before reaching up to give the demon a soft lingering kiss on his forehead.  He inspected his wounds and bruises noticing how quickly they were healing.   At that rate, Eren would be almost back to normal by the next day.  Good.  That took a weight off his shoulders.  He’d have to be out all day today since he had a couple meetings with clients.

He got up and showered, left Eren a note, made breakfast for both of them in case Eren woke up and then left.  It was hard, even for himself, to miss how much his mood was improved compared to the last couple of days now that Eren was back with him. Back where he belonged.  He couldn’t wait to get back home where he knew Eren would be waiting. 

 

He missed him already.

 

\---

 

Later that night, Levi entered his condo and after placing the pizza he’d gotten for dinner on the kitchen aisle, he headed directly for his room to make sure Eren was ok.  He’d noted the demon had eaten his breakfast, so that was a good sign.  He’d sent him a couple of texts asking how he felt and called him at lunchtime to see if there was anything he needed.  Eren sounded sleepy, but said he was fine and that he didn’t need anything.  He’d shyly admitted that he missed Levi and just wanted him back home.  Levi admitted he felt the same.  The boy had been on his mind the whole day, making it hard to concentrate on his business dealings.  He was lucky he was so used to the same spiel over and over it had become second nature to him and he could do it without thinking.

He walked into the bedroom, expecting the boy would be asleep since he hadn’t heard any movement from him.  And he was, he was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping on his stomach, his wings tucked in behind him.  Levi stared.  He loved Eren in his natural form the best.  Being enveloped in those silky black wings had been such an unexpected turn on that morning.  Having the demon gaze at him with those large golden harvest moons he called eyes, it made him shiver.  He reached over, his hand pausing in the air.  He wanted to touch the wings so badly, they were so soft, so dark and beautiful.  He wanted to continue touching, explore Eren’s entire body, memorize every curve, every dip, every muscle with his fingertips.  Maybe with more than his fingertips, too.  He wanted to feel the warmth of his over hot skin against his again, to settle himself in the demon’s  arms and let Eren dominate him.  He wanted the demon to do so many things to him.  He shuddered.  Levi had to fight to control his own urges.  _Calm down_ , he reprimanded himself.  The boy was still recuperating and needed his rest.

He sighed softly before retracting his hand, moving to leave the room.

He was stopped mid-step when Eren’s hand shot out and took hold of his wrist. 

“Levi?”

Eren sat up, sleepily gazing up at him with those golden orbs he’d just been imagining.  Levi’s heart thumped loudly in his ears.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly.  “I didn’t mean to wake you.  Go back to sleep.”

Eren eyed him with playful suspicion.

“I’ve been asleep all day.”

“That doesn’t matter.  Sleep more if you feel you need it.  The important thing is for you to get better.”

Eren smiled up lazily at him.

“I’m fine.  I only slept because you weren’t here anyway.  But… you’re here now.”

Levi let his gaze wander down to Eren’s now exposed torso and saw that he did look amazingly better.  There was still a lot of bruising, but the majority of his cuts were healed.  He was better able to make out the red symbols across his chest again. Though his skin was still sickly pale, it was a far cry from the purple and blue he was covered in yesterday.  He held his breath, leaning forward to pull back the blanket and get a good view of his lower abdomen.  His eyes widened when he saw that the gash too was almost completely healed.

“Ok,” he barely managed to get out breathily.  He touched the remnant of the wound lightly with his fingers, letting them linger for a moment, not missing how the boy’s skin flinched slightly at the contact.

When he straightened up again, Eren shot up following him, startling him, towering over him, his eyes holding his gaze in place.  Levi’s breath hitched.  He could have moved aside, walked away.  He could pretend nothing was going on here, but he didn’t want to.  What he wanted was something else entirely and judging by how the demon was looking down at him hungrily, his eyes hooded, his pupils blown wide with lust, he could easily ascertain that Eren had guessed his wants and was more than willing to comply.  Of course it wasn’t that hard to guess what was on Levi’s mind with his pants straining the way they were.

Eren leaned into him pressing his cheek to his, letting his hot breath tickle his ear; making Levi shudder with anticipation.  The demon moved his mouth to the juncture of Levi’s neck and collarbone where he noisily breathed in the shorter man’s scent before lightly sucking on his skin, his hot wet tongue leaving cool trails.  Despite his best efforts, Levi failed to keep the needy whimpers from escaping his mouth.

“You missed me,” Eren growled into his cold skin.  Levi couldn’t respond, his erratic breathing making it difficult to form words. 

The demon’s fingers worked themselves into his hair, grabbing hold and pulling his head back slightly.  He caressed his soft lips lightly against the exposed skin along his collar; then licked a trail up his throat until his mouth found his Adam’s apple.  He gave it a long hot lick, relishing how it made the shorter man swallow nervously.  He sucked on it lightly, teasingly.  When he pulled away he let his teeth graze over his chin ever so lightly, letting Levi feel the sharp point of his fangs. 

Damn.  He’d forgotten Eren had fangs. 

The demon paused to stare down at him, his golden eyes keeping him in place daring him to try and leave now.  Levi wouldn’t.  He couldn’t.  Eren had him trapped under that lust filled gaze that screamed of possession.  Levi licked his very dry lips and noticed how Eren’s eyes followed the movement like an animal stalking its prey.  He could barely even breathe when Eren looked at him so ferally.  The demon’s lips quirked up with smug satisfaction.

Eren gave Levi a long hungry look before he moved his mouth back to suck on Levi’s earlobe while he undid the buttons of his shirt.  He slipped his hands inside feeling Levi’s warm chest against his palms, his fingers slowly making their way to Levi’s nipples.  He gripped each of them gently between his index and thumb, massaging them lightly making Levi hiss.

“Mn…”

He began trailing slow soft wet kisses down Levi’s chest, his hands moving down as well, mapping a trail down his torso then snaking around his waist.  When he got to his belly button, he let his tongue linger there, flicking it in teasingly then pressing it flat against his taught stomach making sure the man felt the full heat of it before he withdrew it again leaving a cool patch of saliva.  His hands closed that small distance from Levi’s lower back to his ass where he first massaged each cheek, then ground his fingers in, clutching him tightly, bringing the man closer to his face.  He expertly undid the button of Levi’s slacks with his teeth, unzipping him slowly while his hands pulled his pants down from behind, revealing Levi’s tented black boxers.  He moved his hands to grip Levi’s hips, keeping the man in place.  Levi moved his hands to rest on Eren’s head, where he wound his fingers through his hair and held tight.  Eren moved his soft lips again, kissing his way along the edge of his exposed skin and boxers, giving a soft suck here and there before he moved down to mouth his erection causing the shorter man to buck his hips, giving the demon’s hair a not so gentle tug in the process .  Levi groaned loudly, getting frustrated with all this teasing. 

He wanted Eren inside him.  He wanted it so badly.

“Eren,” he managed to grunt out.

But Eren disregarded his protest, kneeling down in front of him, pulling down his boxers, exposing his straining erection, the tip already glistening with pre-cum.  He gripped Levi’s length gently, giving it a teasing pump, delighting in how warm it felt in his hand.  He dipped his thumb into his slit smearing the pre-cum around his head making Levi groan.

“Mn!  E-Eren,” he tried to get the demon’s attention again before he was too far gone to say anymore.

The demon looked up at him innocently before licking the length of his cock starting from the base and slowly inching up until he was at that bundle of nerves right below the head.  Levi sucked in a breath, cursing at the boy internally because he couldn’t form coherent words anymore.  Eren gave him a few more languid licks before taking him in his mouth, slowly and completely, making Levi curse.  He watched as Eren’s head bobbed up and down his member, hollowing his cheeks, finding a rhythm which Levi matched with his hips, rolling himself slowly into the demon’s hot mouth, sometimes feeling the tiniest scrape of a fang. 

Levi kept his eyes trained on the demon.  His face was flushed; his wings were tucked in carefully behind him; those stunning amber eyes hazed over with lust watching his every whimper, his every groan; watching him with the determination to see him undone.  Levi knew that’s what he wanted and he would get it very soon if he kept swirling his tongue around his head like that.  The hot muscle would sometimes dip into the slit of his cock, making Levi gasp loudly, making him pick up his rhythm, his hips brutally grinding his hard cock forward, abusing Eren’s mouth over and over.  Saliva was dribbling down the demon’s chin, but he did not budge.  His hands held fast onto the back of Levi’s thighs, digging in deep to keep himself steady, only releasing him when his cock managed to slip out of his mouth and he had to reposition himself.  There were sure to be bruises later, but Levi couldn’t bring himself to care. He could feel the familiar pooling of heat in his stomach.  He wouldn’t last much longer now.

He pulled at Eren’s hair, locking gazes with him as the only warning he could manage to give.  The boy seemed to understand, but he did nothing to move away.  Not able to hold out any longer, Levi came violently into his mouth, shuddering as he rode the waves of his orgasm.  Eren continued sucking him, swallowing his seed until he was spent.  Levi’s head was reeling, there were bright sparks in his field of vision and he could barely manage to stay on his feet.

“Fuck,” he gasped quietly.

He heard Eren chuckle lightly, then felt himself being lifted slightly and dragged forward as Eren fell back on the bed, bringing Levi with him, the shorter man effectively straddling him.  Eren hurriedly yanked the shirt off Levi’s shoulders and let it drop onto the floor, and it didn’t take Levi long to figure out the demon had already pulled off his own boxers when he felt Eren’s erection against his backside.  The demon snaked a hand around the back of Levi’s head, bringing their faces close; he leaned in, pressing his mouth onto his, his tongue seeking entry.  Levi pushed him away, turning his head so he couldn’t repeat the action.  Eren rested his hands on Levi’s hips, eyeing the shorter man for any sign that something might be wrong.

“What, are you upset with me?” Eren asked teasingly.

“N-no,” Levi panted lightly.  “I just can’t breathe quite yet.  Give me a minute, you bastard.”

“M-kay,” Eren chuckled playfully at his lover’s offended declaration.  He leaned in to assault to the shorter man’s neck instead, moving his hands to grope his ass leisurely. 

Levi wrapped one arm around Eren’s neck bringing them closer, longing for his touch, the soft feathers along his shoulders tickling his skin.  He reached behind himself, wrapping his fingers around Eren’s hard length, pumping it slowly.  He began grinding into the demon’s stomach, lifting himself off the bed slightly, his knees bearing the brunt of his weight.   He felt the bed shift under their weight when Eren moved to get the small bottle of lube from the nightstand drawer.  Black feathers caressed against Levi’s flushed sensitive skin with the demon’s actions, sending a thrill through his body, leaving a barely noticeable trail of goose bumps in its wake.  He got no warning before he felt one of Eren’s fingers teasing his opening, entering him slowly. 

“Nn…” he moaned in slight surprise.

Eren worked him open slowly, stretching his walls with his finger’s massage.  A second finger was introduced, stretching him further, finding that bundle of nerves that made Levi see nothing but white when Eren rubbed against it.  He bit his lip to keep from crying out, shutting his eyes, gasping from the sensation.  Eren found his mouth again and this time did not give Levi any room for protest except maybe a needy moan that escaped between them.  His tongue invaded hungrily, dominating the smaller male completely.  Levi became intrigued with the fangs he found in Eren’s mouth and ran his tongue over them almost obsessively.  He rutted against fingers shamelessly, demanding more, needing to be filled completely by his lover.

Eren released his mouth to whisper into his hear. 

“Levi,” he growled lowly.  “I want you- I want to _feel_ you.   _Every_ part of you.”

He turned Levi in his arms suddenly moving them closer to the center of the bed where he positioned Levi on his knees in front of him.  He began kneading Levi’s ass, running the palm of his hand against the smooth taught skin, marveling how this beautiful creature belonged to him.  He gave his ass cheek a swift slap letting the sound echo around the room before aligning the head of his cock to his lover’s entrance.  He began to push in gently.  Levi ground impatiently against him, urging him on.  Eren held Levi in place, not letting himself be rushed.  He wanted to enjoy this slowly.  Last time had been much too rushed for his liking.  He continued pushing himself in little by little until he had filled Levi completely.  Then he began a slow teasing rhythm, watching himself be swallowed greedily over and over. 

Levi whimpered.  This was too agonizingly slow for him and he couldn’t get Eren to just hurry up and fuck him already because he couldn’t get any sounds out of his mouth other than light pants and moans.  He was clutching the bed sheets tightly in his fists, his upper body writhing.  Frustration finally won out.  Levi lifted himself off the bed, reaching around for Eren’s neck, using it as leverage.  He rolled his hips, rutting back against the demon roughly making them both hiss loudly. 

“Ah!  Heh!” Eren cried, laughing breathily at the same time.  “Ok,” he gasped noisily.  “Ok.  You want it like that, huh?”

He wrapped one arm around Levi’s chest, keeping the shorter man in place and kept his other hand on his hips where he could control his movements.  He rammed into the shorter male, once, twice, over and over, relentlessly, picking up his rhythm to a barely controlled pace.  Levi groaned loudly, sheer pleasure filling his body, finally as he’d wanted.  He turned his head to kiss his lover sloppily since their position didn’t allow for better.  Eren bit Levi’s lower lip tugging it playfully.  Upon releasing it, he latched onto his neck so hard he could taste the bitter metallic of blood mixed in with his saliva.  He growled lowly, feeding off his need to dominate the raven. 

Feeling himself coming close, he let go of Levi’s hip and wrapped his hand around the shorter man’s straining cock pumping in time with his thrusts.  Levi shuddered underneath him, whining lewdly, and Eren knew he would not last much longer either.  Levi cried out Eren’s name, his throat dry, his body slicked with sweat as he was pushed over the edge once again.  Eren kept pushing into him, his rhythm getting even more erratic if that was even possible, his breath getting caught in his throat when Levi’s walls contracted tightly around his dick.  Levi emptied into Eren’s hand, his body going limp as he came down from his orgasm.  Eren emptied inside Levi.  The feel of his lover’s seed filling him, warm thick liquid against his walls, gave the shorter man a strange sense of satisfaction.

The demon collapsed against the bed, cradling Levi to his chest.  He wrapped his wings around him again, kissing his face softly, whispering how much he loved him over and over.

Levi could only allow himself to be showered with the attention.  He was utterly wrecked and had a feeling Eren was more than aware of his current state.  He tried to stay awake, they still hadn’t eaten dinner.  But his heavy lids along with the warm comfort of Eren’s chest were too much to take on, so he succumbed to the darkness.  His mind lingered on the demon as he passed into unconsciousness.  One thought repeating over and over in his mind.

 

Eren was his. 

 

Only his.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... we're all going to hell. Sorry guys.  
> XD


	18. Boyfriend at last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumb boyfriends being dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weather is making it a little hard for me to write because it gives me migraines. *.*  
> Posting today because I might be too busy to do so tomorrow.

* * *

 

 

Levi found himself waking up in Eren’s strong arms that next morning as well.  He debated whether to get up and get started on what would end up being a long day… or he could just stay there.  He could always reschedule his meeting today.  Watching his lover lightly snooze, the soft morning light caressing his warm skin, his face relaxed and free of worries; it made every little thing worth it.  His boyfriend’s majestic wings were wrapped around him again and he found he loved their warm softness and the feeling of security they gave him.  Who else in the world woke up to something like this?  That’s right, no one but himself, that’s who.  He smiled from ear to ear practically buzzing with contentment.

He remained there for as long as he could, listening to his beloved’s steady heartbeat, lightly tracing the outlines of the crimson symbols on his chest before the demon eventually also woke up.  As soon as his golden eyes landed on Levi’s, his lips curled up into a lazy grin.  Eren’s eyes were so full of emotion, so full of unconditional caring for him and only for him.  The thought of it was overwhelming.  It made Levi’s chest flutter.  It astonished him, the way one man was able to steal his breath away, to make his heart beat erratically with a simple look.  

He buried his face in Eren’s chest when he felt his cheeks flush under the demon’s mirth filled gaze.  God, what had he been reduced to?  He was like a blushing teenager.  He was jostled when Eren gave a hearty laugh upon seeing his embarrassment.  Next thing he knew he was flipped onto his back, while Eren hovered over him, smiling smugly, his beautiful black wings rustling overhead.

“Why such a big frown, hm?” Eren cooed at him.  “What could you possibly have to be upset about when I love you so much?”

He leaned in suddenly giving Levi a soft warm kiss on the tip of his nose.  He wrapped his hand around Levi’s gauzed one and seemed to finally notice it, his eyes quizzical.

“Levi,” he said hesitantly.  “I’ve been meaning to ask you.  What’s up with your hand?”

Levi narrowed his eyes.

“Funny,” Levi smirked.  “I’ve been meaning to ask you the same thing.  Ymir tells me I’m the proud owner of a demon mark courtesy of a certain mischievous demon who happens to be staring down at me right this moment.”

Eren’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly, crinkling in the corners, which told Levi the demon knew exactly what was up. 

“Oh,” he said simply before attempting to change the subject.  “Levi, you have a business meeting today, don’t you?  I think it’s getting late.  Boy, we better get up right now.”  Eren moved to get off the bed.  “Right this minute!”

Levi moved quickly wrapping both his arms around Eren’s torso, using his full body’s weight to anchor him down. 

“Tell me why I have it,” he demanded.  “Ymir said I owe you something, what is it?”

Eren stared down at him, searching his eyes for a moment before answering.

“You promised me something,” the way he said it so softly, so intimately made Levi flush all over again.

A promise?

“What did I promise you?  And please god, do not tell me I made this promise on that night I was drunk!”

“Sorry,” Eren chuckled lightly.  “I guess you’re not living that night down for quite a while yet.  We can talk about it all you want when you remember.  I’d really like to, actually.  But it’s very, very personal- and I just… I can’t- I won’t talk to you about it before then.”

“What the hell, Eren!  How can this be too personal to discuss with me when it’s one hundred percent _about_ me?”

Levi glared at him.  Eren smiled lazily in return.

“It’s not anything bad, I promise,” Eren replied, giving him a quick peck.  “I love you so much Levi.”

“Now, how is that fair?” Levi kissed him back, surrendering the battle. 

“It’s not.  But you love me, so it’s ok?”

“You jerk,” he admonished, reaching up to push aside a stray lock of Eren’s hair.  His hand lingered on the demon’s face, cupping his cheek tenderly.  “At least tell me why it only itches like the devil sometimes and not all the time.”

“Oh, that,” Eren transformed into his human form, rolled them over and lifted Levi, carrying him bridal style towards the shower.  Suddenly Levi was staring at those familiar emeralds rather than the harvest moon orbs he was getting accustomed to.  “It won’t do anything while I’m here with you.  You probably didn’t even notice it before, did you?”

Levi glared at him as an answer.

“It will only burn when I’m in the other realm.  You know, to remind you that you have made me a promise.”

“Oh?” Levi narrowed his eyes.  “It’s not to mark me as yours by any chance, is it?”

Eren stared down at Levi, his suddenly darkened eyes devouring him, his lips quirking up ever so slightly, before asking, “Would that bother you?”

Well that was direct.  Levi thought it over for a second and it seems that was all he needed.

“No,” he breathed out softly holding the demon’s heavy gaze.

Eren hugged him close and nuzzled his cheek before giving him a lingering hot kiss.

“Good,” he breathed huskily into his ear.

 

\---

 

Levi glanced at his cell phone yet again, not believing the message staring at him in the face.

 

**Mike:**   I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, but I really need to talk to you. 

**Mike:**   In person.

 

He’d received this message last night, but since he’d been very, very distracted he hadn’t seen it until this morning.  He kept mulling it over in his head, wracked with indecision.  Would he really be able to meet with him in a civilized manner?  Mike was the other man, after all.  But he was over it, so it wouldn’t really affect him anymore, right?  He’d still be upset and have hard feelings.  He was only human after all; who wouldn’t be?  But he wouldn’t cause a scene or anything, he was an adult.

What could he possibly want to talk about?  From what Erwin had told him, Mike was a home wrecker.  But… that was Erwin’s side.  Erwin had been the one to betray him, and he’d had his say, so why shouldn’t Mike get to tell his side?  As Petra had said, they were all friends so it was hard to know what to do.  He’d been unable to come to a decision, so he’d been postponing answering him.

His phone buzzed with a new message.

 

**Petra:**   Levi!  I really need to talk to you.  Auruo broke up with me.

 

He wondered if Petra had finally given him an ultimatum.  If she had, then Auruo had seemingly chosen to get off the pot.  She must be devastated after all those wasted years trying to get him to commit.  He sent Petra a quick text to let her know he was in a meeting and would call her as soon as he got home.

His stomach cramped.

Damned brat! 

Eren had managed to talk him into eating the pizza he’d brought home for dinner when they’d woken up dehydrated and starving at two in the morning.  It hadn’t been refrigerated, so Levi had absolutely refused at first.  But Eren had sprinkled some oregano on top and toasted it until the bottom was crispy and the cheese was gooey again.  The smell had made it impossible to resist and now he was paying the price. 

“Mmmmf…”

He massaged his belly with one hand, cradling it with the other in an effort to will the pain away.  That and the hot chamomile tea he was currently sipping seemed to have the best soothing effects.  In the back of his mind he knew he’d be defiling his bathroom later that evening.  A truly romantic thought.  And this was the worst possible place to even be thinking of such things.  He huffed impatiently, turning his gaze to the entrance of Nick’s yet again waiting for his stupid secret boyfriend to finally show up. 

Secret boyfriend?  Yep, there was the dilemma.  They couldn’t really make their relationship public yet, because his dumbass demon boyfriend hadn’t broken up with his fake human boyfriend, Jean, yet.  He supposed he should feel guilty about fooling around with someone else’s boyfriend, especially after what he’d gone through with Erwin.  But it wasn’t a real relationship, just a stupid misunderstanding by the two most clueless, biggest idiots on the face of the earth.  One of which he was very much in love with and the other which he couldn’t bring himself to hate no matter how hard he tried. 

He dialed Eren’s number for the third time since he’d gotten to the diner.  Again, it went straight to voicemail.  He wondered if things had gotten out of hand with the tawny haired kid.  He seemed like the clingy type who would throw a fit over something like this.  Not envying Eren’s situation in the slightest, he sighed heavily and went back to sipping his tea.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can get for you today, sir?”  It was the exasperation in the waitresses’ voice that caught his attention.  There was a strangely quiet fellow who’d taken a seat across the restaurant, in a booth directly across his.  They were separated only by a few free standing tables left unoccupied in the middle of the restaurant between them.  Levi hadn’t paid much attention to him because he assumed people sitting by themselves in a restaurant already felt self conscious enough as it is.  Hell knows he certainly did, even though he was technically waiting for someone.  The man practically jumped out of his skin every time the waitress asked him anything, as if he wasn’t expecting for her to come by.  The patron paid for his meal in cash grumbling in irritation and motioned for the waitress to leave him alone.  She complied, rolling her eyes as soon as her face was shielded from his view.  He was left with only a newspaper and a cup of coffee. 

Something in Levi’s gut, and not the old pizza, told him something about this man wasn’t right.  Why was the man so nervous?  There was hardly anyone in the back of the diner with them.  It was a slow time of day and most of the customers were seated up front so the diner could look busy from the outside.  He’d already eaten an entire meal, so he was obviously not waiting on anyone else.  Levi turned to his phone, pretending to catch up on e-mails, secretly shooting glances at the stranger.  He caught the man sneaking sidelong glances his way whenever he thought he wasn’t being watched.  As soon as Levi made to turn in his direction, he would direct his gaze back to his newspaper.  It made Levi’s skin crawl.

When the waitress came by to drop off his change, Levi took advantage of the distraction to take a long look at him.  And that’s when he finally confirmed his suspicion.  The man was normal looking enough; he was average height, a little on the heavy side, ruddy skin and more hair on his body than on his head.  He was wearing a cream colored button up and chocolate brown slacks, all telltale signs that he could be a generic office worker from any generic office building from that area.  But he was not a normal man, not at all.  It was his eyes that gave him away, those round dark eyes, bugging out of his face that seemed to see more than just what was in front of him.  Even through the thick lenses of the man’s glasses, Levi could see the half crazed intensity of his gaze.

Shit! 

A demon.  And in the middle of the day, no less.  He sent a quick text to Eren telling him to hurry up and get his butt over here or he’d be leaving in five minutes.  As soon as the waitress left again, the demon noticed Levi staring and slowly got up, moving hesitantly in his direction.  Levi wasn’t exactly scared, especially since the demon seemed to amble in a painfully slow fashion not unlike a penguin waddling; but he was still quite concerned.  In the back of his mind, he supposed he should be more wary of this particular demon.  He had a much better handle on appearing human than his predecessor, which meant he must be stronger. 

He cringed inwardly when the demon was closer, his skin damp with nervous perspiration, his sausage arms swaying back and forth every time he took another tentative step forward, but Levi couldn’t pass up this chance to gain information.  He was dying of curiosity as to the reason they were so interested in him.   Ymir didn’t seem to know and from what she’d said, even Eren didn’t know why.  And frankly, Levi suspected that even if his boyfriend did manage to find something out about it, he’d keep it to himself in some misguided attempt to protect him.  So this seemed like the best time to find out.  Maybe the _only_ time.  This was all of course assuming the demon would even want to try to communicate with him. 

His hopes were dashed when the demon suddenly turned towards the front of the restaurant and froze.  Levi turned to see what he was looking at, but didn’t see anything.  When he turned back to the demon, it was gone.  There was no back door, it just vanished into thin air, the half empty cup of black coffee and hastily discarded newspaper the only signs anyone had been there at all. 

Damn it!

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, cursing under his breath.  Who knew when he’d get a chance to talk to one of those guys again?

“Something wrong?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard eyebrows speak in his booming towering-giant voice right next to him.

“I suppose it makes you smile just a little inside to know you’ve effectively shaved a couple of years off a guy’s life like that, doesn’t it asshole?”

Erwin slid into the booth and sat down facing Levi without waiting to be invited.  He leaned his cheek on the palm of his hand, smiling smugly, his eyes twinkling with mischief.  He must have been here for a while because he already had a drink in hand.

“Just a little,” he conceded. 

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked point blank.  No use pretending they were best friends.  Or even friends really.  They had a long way to go on that route, if they would even ever get there.

Erwin regarded him for a moment, as though weighing his words before answering. 

“I’m meeting Nile here,” he said simply.  “That’s all.”

“Oh,” Levi answered without the slightest hint of interest or concern.

Nile was one of Erwin’s co-workers and an old friend of Erwin’s family.  Erwin’s father and Nile’s father were friends; their grandfathers were friends- it went on and on.  Having no living family of his own, Levi had never been able to relate.  He’d never involved himself too much in their affairs.  They exuded old money and a good old boys’ club that he would never be a part of.  They worked for the same family owned corporation as CEO’s, CFO’s- whatever the fuck, he didn’t really know.  He had never bothered to learn their exact titles.

“What about you?” Erwin asked, raising an eyebrow lazily. 

“Business lunch,” Levi answered matter-of-factly.  “I just finished up a presentation before you got here, actually.”

“Hmm,” Erwin hummed, taking a sip of his drink.  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like business is really picking up for you.” 

Levi didn’t even bother wondering how Erwin would know something like this.  Of course Petra would keep him well informed.  Well, he had nothing to hide.  Ok, just one thing.  But he wasn’t about to tell her about Eren’s true nature.  Ever.

“It is, actually.  I picked up extra work recently and that seemed to really catch a lot of my regular client’s attentions.  They put out a good word of mouth for me and now I have a waiting list.”

“Is that when you bought your car?”

“Yep.” 

“It wouldn’t be that sleek gray Audi I saw out in the parking lot, would it?”

“Maybe,” Levi said cryptically, though he knew the small smile he was fighting to keep down gave the answer away.

“It’s nice.  Really suits you too.  Good for you,” Erwin gave him one of his rare dazzling smiles.  Levi was temporarily put off by it.  He’d almost never gotten to see it, and to look upon it now… well, he kind of felt cheated, as irrational as that sounded.  “I always knew you could be successful at anything you put your mind to.” 

Liar. 

Erwin had never been supportive of him before.  He always made Levi’s work seem like a hobby and never took it seriously.  Erwin hadn’t wanted Levi to work at all.  He’d say it wasn’t necessary since he made more than enough for both of them.  Levi argued that he hadn’t spent four years in college just to end up as a rich boy’s trophy wife.  The memory of it made Levi’s already roiling stomach angrier.

“Thanks,” he said softly, not willing to start a pointless argument.  He wished he had something stronger than his tea now. 

He hated feeling this resentment.  He hated how Erwin was still able to affect him even when he no longer felt anything romantic towards him.  Why couldn’t things just be easy for once?  Why couldn’t breaking ties literally be like taking a pair of scissors and snip snip, voila!- no more feelings.  Sometimes life sucked.  He repressed the frustrated sigh threatening to escape his lips with a drink of his chamomile tea.

He almost spit it out when he saw his boyfriend at the diner entrance.  He was wearing just regular jeans and a t-shirt when he walked in, but as soon as his eyes landed on Erwin sitting opposite Levi he scowled darkly and changed into a dark gray acid washed t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing way more of his sculpted arms and shoulders than was wholly necessary.  His jeans were ditched in favor of khaki shorts that accentuated the shapeliness of his legs, his rock hard calves fully on display.  And when he approached, effortlessly maneuvering around other tables and patrons, he noticed the shorts hugged his ass in a manner which should most definitely be illegal.  He wondered if Erwin had noticed.  Hell, who was he kidding?  He was sure the entire female clientele and some of the males of the diner had noticed- and were still noticing quite openly. 

Sure, they’d notice something like that, but not the fact that the boy had spontaneously gone through a wardrobe change right in front of them.  He supposed it was human nature not to pay attention to such minute details. 

When Eren reached their table he leaned in to give Levi a beaming smile and a quick kiss with a “sorry I’m late.”

Levi did not miss the look of ‘why the fuck is he here with you,’ that was implied in the depths of Eren’s murderous eyes.  He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat moving over to make room for the demon.

Levi had never been one for small talk and he wasn’t about to start now.  So…

“Eren, this is Erwin.  Erwin this is Eren,” was all the explanation anyone got.

He may have imagined it, but he was sure he saw Eren’s eyes blaze red when he heard the mention of Erwin’s name.  Erwin must not have noticed because he didn’t react any differently.  He shook the younger man’s hand as he would anyone else’s.

The two men stared, sizing each other up for a moment, before Erwin relaxed and decided he wanted to become friends.

“So Eren, we finally get to meet,” he smiled lazily. 

Eren laughed nervously.  A bit psychotically, if you were paying enough attention.

“Yeah, how about that,” Eren managed to say with a straight face, smiling sweetly.  “It’s funny, but I figured I’d never get to meet any of Levi’s friends.  I mean, he doesn’t really seem to have any.”

Levi almost choked.

But Erwin only chuckled.

“Yes, Levi is quite anti-social,” he agreed, either missing or pretending not to notice Eren’s jab.  “How is it that you two managed to meet?”

“Oh, it’s nothing too out of the ordinary, I’m afraid,” Eren said almost shyly.  “We met at a party in one of the dorms; we have mutual friends there.  Levi was drunk off his ass, so I made sure to keep an eye on him that whole night.  And then… things just happened.  You know.”

“Really?” Erwin seemed genuinely surprised, and when he turned to give the shorter man a quizzical look he seemed perhaps a bit judgmental as well.  “A college party, Levi?”

“Old habits are hard to break, I guess,” Eren cut in before Levi could answer.  “I’m sure once he’s been away from the college scene for a couple of years it will work itself out of his system.  I’m sure you must have gone through the same kind of thing when you were his age, right?”

Erwin’s eyes widened, he cleared his throat uncomfortably seemingly at a loss for words for the first time ever since Levi had known him.

“Erwin and I are the same age,” Levi supplied, trying to ease the tension.

“Oh?” Eren said simply.  Levi suspected the demon already knew that what with the way his eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief.  The demon gave Erwin an apologetic look then tried to change the subject.  “Um, Levi tells me you’re really into the fine arts.  The ballet, opera and all that?”

Shit.  Levi didn’t remember telling him any such thing.  They hadn’t talked about Erwin at all that he could remember.

“Yes,” Erwin recovered his composure, the merriment slowly returning to his eyes at the mention of one of his favorite subjects.  “Levi and I recently both attended half of Tosca.  It was great, but we had to leave.  We, um… ran into some difficulties.”

Levi frowned at the memory.

“Well, that’s a shame!” Eren blurted out.  “Tosca’s one of my favorites.”

“Oh, are you a fan?” Erwin asked a little surprised.

“Yeah, I love the opera!” Eren exclaimed enthusiastically.  Erwin’s face lit up.  Levi frowned.  “At least what I can remember of it.  My father used to take me all the time when I was younger.”

Erwin frowned.  Levi had to press his lips together to suppress an ill-timed chortle.

“Any particular favorite?” Erwin struggled to maintain his cool demeanor.

“I like anything really,” Eren said seriously.  “As long as it’s not Wagner.  You _cannot_ pay me to sit through that.”

“Hmm…  Interesting,” Erwin swirled his drink in its glass.  “I suppose he’s not for everyone,” he said condescendingly.

“No, his work is great.  I’m afraid it’s just me,” Eren said smiling lazily.  “They’re too long, you know?  And as much as my father and his colleagues loved it, I just couldn’t do it, so I always snuck out.  I mean, the thought of just sitting there for hours and hours on end having to listen to the insane self -important imaginings of a pretentious old fart… Wow!  You know?  How can _anyone_ stand that?”  

He shot Levi a pointedly sympathetic look that did not go unnoticed by the tall blonde.

Levi sucked in a sharp breath.  He could see the vein bulging on Erwin’s forehead.  Far from feeling sorry for Eren’s behavior, he was instead having a hard time repressing the urge to laugh his ass off.  Luckily, at that moment Nile walked into the diner.

“Erwin,” Levi said almost too eagerly.  “Nile’s here.”

Erwin’s face relaxed and after a moment he was able to resume his calm façade.

“Well, it was certainly _interesting_ meeting you… Eren, was it?”

“It was,” Eren smiled up at him as if nothing had transpired. “Will we be seeing more of you?”

Erwin smiled knowingly.  “Afraid so.”

Eren smiled so hard Levi could almost hear his teeth grind.  “Great!”

No sooner had Erwin excused himself than Levi jabbed Eren in his ribcage.

“Ow!” Eren yelped softly, but Levi could tell he was repressing laughter.

 “What the fuck, Eren?”

Eren exhaled loudly.

“What?  Am I supposed to make your dick ex-boyfriend feel welcome?” he muttered darkly.

“So, you did know he was my ex.”

“Not at first.  At first I was kind of confused that you were sitting with Apollo from the other day.  And I may have been slightly jealous because you never mentioned that you knew him.  But when you introduced us, yeah… I know who Erwin is.”

“How?”

“You told me.  You told me a _lot_ about him, actually.  Just give me the word and I will take care of him Levi.  It can even be painless if it really matters that much to you.”

Levi clasped Eren’s hand under the table, entwining their fingers gently before smiling widely. 

“If it ever comes to that, I think I would want the satisfaction of doing it myself.  I guess I just didn’t realize you could be such a jerk!” he ended with highly amused laughter.

Eren smiled mischievously.  When he went in for a kiss, Levi blocked him.

“Levi?”

“Did you break it off with the douche?”

“You let me kiss you when I got here,” Eren said playfully.

“That was for Erwin’s benefit, and you know it.  Did you do it or not?”

“Well,” Eren started.  “Yes, but I’m confused about it.”  Levi raised a brow in confusion.  “The thing is, Jean had contacted me quite a few times already yesterday.  He was blowing up my phone like you wouldn’t believe.  He said he really wanted to talk to me.”

“Oh?” Levi said simply, jealousy threatening to peek its ugly head. 

“Yeah.  He was really happy to see me too, you should have seen him.  We talked for a while about what I’d missed, about what everyone was up to.  He mentioned you suck at bowling, by the way.  We were just hanging out, having a good time, like we always do.  But then he started acting all nervous, and I asked him what was wrong.  He said I didn’t really seem to be into the relationship, what with me leaving without even telling him.  I told him it wasn’t my fault that I had to leave, so he should be more understanding-”   

“What?  Why would you-”

“He agreed and he said he did understand that, but when you put it together with the black eye I gave him for trying to kiss me, that maybe I wasn’t sure what I wanted and needed space.  What the fuck does that even mean?  Space for what?!  He said space to see other people.  Can you believe that?  He’s already got his eye on someone else!  I just wanted to punch- ow!  Levi!”

Levi had grabbed hold of his ear.

“You were supposed to break up with him, you little shit!  And instead you’re all offended that he dumped you?  What the fuck?!”

Eren glared at him, his confusion slowly melting into laughter.

“Oh, yeah!” he chuckled.  “I’ve never been dumped before, so I got really angry.  I wasn’t expecting that at all.  I guess I got distracted.”

“You guess?”

Eren shrugged.

“So, how exactly were you planning on dumping him then?  It doesn’t sound like that was on your mind at all.”

“I _was_ going to tell him,” Eren said defensively, his brows furrowed.  “It’s just so… frustrating!  I don’t know how you guys can do this.  Emotions are… dumb!  They’re dumb and I hate them.  I mean, I don’t even like him that way, but it still pissed me off.  What the fuck is that about?  Being human is stupid!” 

Levi’s face fell.  Doubt crept into his mind again, reminding him that he and Eren were from different worlds and maybe this wasn’t meant to work out between them.  He turned away, lowering his gaze and sighing in defeat.

Eren panicked upon seeing his lover’s downfallen expression.  He hurriedly wrapped his arms around the shorter man, afraid Levi would think his little outburst applied to their relationship which couldn’t be the farthest thing from the truth. 

“Not you!  You know I don’t mean you.  You’re the only thing that makes sense in my dumb life, Levi.  In this world or mine, you’re the only thing that matters to me.  Please don’t be upset with me!”

“Fine,” he whispered into the boy’s ear. 

“So you can officially be my boyfriend now?” Eren asked tentatively.

Levi smiled. 

“Yes, you are officially _my_ boyfriend now, shithead.  Try anything funny and I’ll cut your balls off.”

Eren snickered as he planted soft kisses in Levi’s hair.

 

“I love you so much, Levi.” 

 

“I love you too, dummy.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, things are getting complicated in the story, a lot of things are going to he happening at once including a lot of angst (some of you could already feel it coming even from before, right?). Hang in there!
> 
> DX


	19. The Concert Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi consoles Petra over her break up with Auruo and Dinosaur Puppy Farm is back for another concert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, smell that drama in the air.
> 
> *cough, cough*  
> chokes  
> @.@

* * *

 

 

What a fucking weird week. 

Levi exhaled loudly and took a long sip of his imported draft beer.  He was sitting next to Petra at the bar of Garrison’s Pub.  She had one arm wrapped around herself, her hand clutching her side desperately as though it was the only thing keeping her together; the other was nursing her Long Island iced tea, trembling slightly from time to time with her faint sobbing.  Her shoulders were slumped over, her face was splotchy and her eyes were puffy.  Unfortunately it was a sight Levi was used to seeing; but not recently, it had been mostly when they’d been younger.  She had suffered much back then, but over time it had made her stronger and as a result he hadn’t seen her this broken in many, many years.  He handed her a tissue and was careful to make no comments about her smeared mascara.  Petra was an ugly crier, they both knew this, he knew better than to mention it.

“He didn’t think you were good enough to be the mother of his children?”

He’d been digesting this piece of information for a moment now.  Of all the things that asshole Auruo could have chosen to break up over why did it have to be this?  Petra had always wanted to have a large family.  She didn’t want her kids to grow up alone as she and Levi had, she’d always imagined at least three maybe four kids running around playing games, causing mischief, making a big mess all the time.  She said she wanted a lively happy house.  Levi of course couldn’t imagine wanting such a thing, it sounded absolutely terrifying and disgusting at the same time.  Auruo came from a good family, he was financially stable and very responsible.  In Petra’s eyes, he would make the ideal father and husband. 

Would have made.  Apparently he didn’t share her views.  Whether he knew it or not, he’d hit Petra’s weakest point and it hurt her deeply.  Levi had the mind to pay Auruo a visit and make him hurt just as deeply if not more so, but Petra wouldn’t hear of it.  She said she wanted to keep her dignity.

“That’s what he said,” she said in between hiccups.  “But I think he was just using it as an excuse.  A really hurtful one.  I mean, come on Auruo!  It took you three years to figure that out?  Really?”

She laughed humorlessly, dabbing tears away from her eyes with her tissue once again.  Levi rubbed her shoulder sympathetically.  At least she was finally able to talk about it, finally willing to leave her apartment for something other than work.  When she and Auruo had first broken up all she could do was cry and drink.  He had spent the last few nights at her place making sure she was well because he knew she wouldn’t take care of herself in this state.  He made sure she ate dinner at least, even if it was her only meal of the day and even if the amounts were very small.  They talked about her work day, about the past and what had happened to the kids they’d grown up with.  He made her watch outlandish comedies and plotless action movies to get her mind off her asshole ex-boyfriend.  She’d done the same for him when he’d left Erwin, so he felt it was the least he could do in return.    

Eren wasn’t happy with them spending so much time apart, but he didn’t argue about it.  At first Levi had half expected to get some kind of lecture about how stupid humans were, ruled by the simplest of emotions and how demons didn’t have to deal with such nonsensical matters.  But his boyfriend hadn’t even brought it up at all.  He’d been very understanding, actually.  He’d even prepare food for Levi to take with him on his visits.  Levi suspected his break-up with Jean had given him some insight as to the feelings involved.  While Levi appreciated Eren’s attitude and had no qualms about being there for Petra, he found he missed his boyfriend terribly.  He’d just gotten him back and now that they could officially be together there was no time.  It was frustrating beyond belief.  By the time he got home, they were both already tired and wanted only to get some rest.  He made sure never to let it show around Petra though.  The last thing he needed was to make her feel guilty about monopolizing his time.

Then there was Mike.  Levi had decided to hear him out and had sent him a text to let him know as much.  However, none of his messages were getting through.  After getting ‘send failed’ a couple of times throughout the day he decided to call the taller man instead.  His phone was disconnected.  He was left wondering what Mike wanted to talk to him about.  Common sense told him he was over-analyzing the situation.  Mike probably just wanted to tell him his side of what happened with Erwin and maybe was even sorry about it.  But something just didn’t sit right.  If that’s all this had been, then why was his phone disconnected?  Surely Mike hadn’t expected him to respond right away, that didn’t make sense. 

He found out through Hanji that Mike was staying with friends temporarily.  She’d found the information from snooping on his Facebook account.  She herself still hadn’t contacted any of their old friends at all.  As far as they knew, she was still locked up.  At first her reasons had made sense, but now Levi was beginning to suspect there were other elements involved that she was keeping to herself.  He decided that out of all those fuckers, she alone deserved the benefit of the doubt, so he let her have some time.  For now.  He hoped she would come clean soon because Levi was not a patient man and eventually he _would_ demand to know what was going between her and their other friends.  He didn’t care what they were hiding, he had a right to know and he would dig until he exposed the truth, the truth about every single one of them no matter what, let the shit fall where it may.  And if it really was that bad, well he’d just have to cross that bridge when he got there.    

Levi sucked up his pride and went looking for Mike, but when he spoke to his friends he was in for yet another surprise.  They told him he’d vanished.  He’d given no warning, he hadn’t told any of them his plans.  One day he just hadn’t come home.  All his belongings save his phone were still in the apartment, but the man himself was gone.  This was definitely not something Mike would do and it seemed highly suspicious.  He strongly considered telling either Erwin or Hanji about it, but in the end he decided he should find out more information before bringing anyone else into it. 

_Friends_.  Wow.  They weren’t friends, hadn’t been for a while apparently.    

As if these things weren’t enough, Levi wasn’t feeling well.  It was like icing on the cake.  A giant steaming poop cake.  He hadn’t felt well the other day at Nick’s diner, but he’d chalked that up to unrefrigerated pizza.  His stomach had since calmed down, but it didn’t end there.  His whole body hurt occasionally, like he was getting a fever.  His heartbeat would suddenly increase out of the blue leaving him feeling tired and dizzy.  His fingers and toes sometimes lost feeling randomly for apparently no reason.  His symptoms happened randomly and independently of each other, so he couldn’t even be sure if they were related and caused by one thing or if his health was just fucked up in general.  It definitely wasn’t normal.  He’d made an appointment with his doctor to get checked out.  The doctor told him everything looked fine as far as he could tell, so he’d ordered tests and now they were just waiting for the results.  There was no way in hell he was going to tell Eren about this until he knew something for sure.  He didn’t want the demon to get all worked up if it was nothing serious.

“Do you want to know what the best part of all of this is, Levi?”

He was brought back to the present by Petra’s raspy voice, raw from all her crying.

“What?” he asked softly, fearing the manic tone her voice had taken on.

“I think he left after he found out something about me,” she gave a small laugh through her tears. 

“What do you mean?  What could he possibly find out about you that would drive him away?”  He meant this in the most sincere way. 

“Well,” she took a deep breath.  “I can’t have children Levi.”

Levi’s glass almost slipped from his grasp.  How could this possibly be true?  And Petra, of all people?  That’s all she’d ever wanted from life and now it was the only thing she couldn’t have.  Who made up these damn rules?

“I just found out recently.  I wasn’t sure how to tell him… I think he found the results at my apartment because they were in a different place than I remember leaving them.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said wrapping her in his arms.  She buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing hysterically yet again.

Levi’s mind was made up.  Damn right he would be paying the man a little visit.  He didn’t care how much Petra protested. 

When it rains it pours.  How could a stupid little cylinder of salt hold so much wisdom? 

 

\---

 

Petra left to visit her parents that weekend.  She would need to break the news to them anyway and she could use the change of scenery.  Levi told her to call him if she needed anything, which he suspected she would.  She’d need to at least talk to him about how oppressive and overbearing her parents were just as she always did when she visited them.  He hoped her resentment towards them would at least take her mind off her break up.

He woke up Saturday morning as he always did now, his head using Eren’s shoulder as a pillow, his body curled up into his boyfriend’s, their legs intertwined and Eren’s arms possessively around him.  He reached up to run his fingers through Eren’s soft brown locks.  He enjoyed just staring at him, watching him sleep peacefully first thing in the morning for moments on end.  He never woke the boy up, he liked being able to enjoy these tranquil private times before their day started.  He decided his favorite part was when Eren finally did wake up and his soft gaze landed on him.  The way Eren looked at him made him melt all over, every single time, no exceptions.  Eren would bring his hand up to cup his cheek tenderly and Levi would undoubtedly get embarrassed over feeling so giddy about such a simple gesture. 

“Good morning,” Eren said lazily giving Levi a gentle lingering kiss on his forehead.

“Good morning yourself,” Levi replied, hugging his boyfriend tightly, bringing their foreheads together.  “Have you thought of anything you might want to do today?”

Eren eyed him quizzically.

“No Petra today?” he asked with concern. 

“She’s visiting her parents,” Levi chuckled. 

Eren sat up excitedly, shifting Levi so he was cradling him in his arms.

“So you’re all mine today?” he asked hungrily. 

Levi suddenly felt his body flush with what Eren was implying.  They hadn’t been together like this all week.  Levi had been tired from being out late with Petra, and he’d had several business meetings.  There just hadn’t been any time.  If Eren so much as touched him the right way right now, he’d be done. 

“Yes, but…” Levi couldn’t bring himself to say it.  He’d sound like such an ass and that’s the last thing he wanted right now.

“But… we’re all gross with morning breath and everything?” he laughed.

Well, his boyfriend knew him perfectly well after all.

“Maybe,” Levi huffed.  He didn’t like being so easy to read.

“It’s just as well,” Eren said with resignation.  He picked Levi up in his arms and carried him towards the shower as was becoming their morning routine.

“Oh?  Why do you say that?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure what your plans would be,” he said apologetically.  “So, some of the guys are coming over for a late lunch today before tonight’s concert.”

“Oh,” Levi said simply.  He didn’t recall any concert plans, which meant that he hadn’t been invited.  He put on a blank expression, willing his disappointment away.  “Well, I did need to talk to stupid four eyes anyway, so I guess it’s just as well.”

He was standing in the bathroom now, so he turned away to turn on the shower as a distraction.

He was genuinely surprised when Eren’s strong arms turned him back around and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I got an extra ticket for you just in case.  If you don’t have plans anymore, why don’t you come with me?  Please?”

“You got me a ticket,” Levi asked, relief washing over his body.  “Just in case?”

“Yeah,” Eren said with uncertainty.  “I know you don’t like these kinds of things, but… I mean, I really had a lot of fun last time, except…”

“Except?”

“Except you weren’t there with me, and that’s all I could think about the whole time.  Please come with me Levi, just this once?”

So he hadn’t asked him because he thought he wouldn’t want to go.  He supposed he did give off that impression last time.  He lifted Eren’s hand to his lips and lightly kissed his fingers before answering.

“I would love to go the concert with you, so stop pouting ok?”

He was almost blinded by Eren’s smile, and then crushed when the boy lifted him up joyfully.

“It’ll be so much fun!  You’ll see!”

 

\---

 

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to happen, but this certainly wasn’t it.  It was like a repeat of last time with the brownie incident, except this time Eren was in his right mind.  Ok, that made him chuckle a little bit.  What exactly was Eren’s right mind?  He didn’t know. 

Krista was mixing drinks like a champ.  Ymir, Sasha and Mikasa were drooling over pictures and video they had saved in their phones of the bands.  One of their favorite indie rock bands, Battered Orphans, was going to be playing along with Dinosaur Puppy Farm this time and they were acting like it was the apocalypse since the two bands apparently couldn’t stand each other and had outright refused to perform together in the past.  No one knew the circumstances of how they were brought together for this performance, but there were already bets placed on potential skirmishes.  The girls were debating over which band had the best guitarist, which had the cutest bass guitarist and which had the better singer.  The drummers were equally admired and it was agreed that both band’s drummers were crazy mofos; it was kind of required for the job.

The guys were talking excitedly about the impending concert- especially the possibility of drama between the bands; drinking and being generally rowdy.  Armin was the only one not already buzzed, he was sipping his coke like a good sport. They’d borrowed a van so they could all go together and Armin had volunteered to be the designated driver.  Jean was sitting and talking to all the guys like if nothing had ever happened between him and Eren.  Which, nothing really did, but that was not the point.  Eren was also his normal self, talking to Jean as if nothing had occurred and they were still best friends.  Levi was puzzled.  How did they make it seem so easy?  Was it because they were all still so young? 

Ok, maybe not Eren, he was old as fuck, but technically still a teenager. 

Maybe it was because those two didn’t have the history like he and Erwin had.  Maybe because the relationship had been short, it was easier to get over?  But that didn’t make sense either.  He and Eren hadn’t been together long, and yet Levi knew in the pit of his stomach that if Eren were to leave him he’d be devastated. 

No, it wasn’t the relationship aspect of things right now that was bothering him, he realized.  It was the friendship these kids had.  They were tight knit, they stuck together; they were friends no matter what.  Hadn’t he and his friends been this way at one point?  Or… _had_ they been?  He couldn’t really remember anymore.  He just remembered Hanji was his friend, Petra was like his family and Erwin had been his boyfriend.  Mike was a friend through Erwin… and that was really it wasn’t it?  All those years then, what the fuck had they even been doing?  He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.  He had no friends. 

He sighed staring down at his mojito, suddenly feeling uncomfortable among the students.  He didn’t belong here.

“What’s up your butt?”

He looked up to see Ymir smirking down at him.

“Just feeling a little out of place, that’s all.”

She rolled her eyes, “It was supposed to be a funny conversation starter… but all right.  I can do serious too.  Why do you feel out of place?”

“It’s not easy to explain… I mean they’re young, in school, just starting out with their lives.  What am I even doing here?”

“Maybe not the right person to ask,” she said pointing to herself.  “Eren wasn’t kidding when he said I was old enough to have seen his parents being born, you know.”

Levi’s eyes widened. 

“Holy shit!”

He’d assumed it had been an insult, not actually true.  She laughed good-naturedly.

“Levi, it’s not like you’re a fucking senior citizen.  Are you even thirty yet?”

“No, but I will be in a handful of years.”

“Then it’s not your age that’s the problem.  What’s wrong?”

“My friends,” he started but then hesitated.

“Your friends _what_?” Ymir prodded.

“I _have_ no friends,” he frowned.

“Hanji _is_ your friend,” she said without missing a beat.  “Don’t you dare ever doubt that!”

“It’s not her… it’s the others.  I don’t know where I stand with them.  I don’t even know what’s really going on in their lives anymore.  I feel like I don’t know them.”

Ymir gave him a long look before replying.

“You know, short stack, people change, that’s just life.  Either you grow closer together or you grow apart, that’s just how things are.  There’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to let it go.  Besides, you’ve got plenty of friends right here,” she motioned to everyone in the room.  “What more could you ask for?”

“They’re Eren’s friends,” he was being stubborn and he knew it.

Ymir studied him for a second before cocking her hand on her hip.

“When you needed help to get Eren back, were you able to call on your ‘friends?’” she asked smugly.

Levi frowned.  Of course not.  There was no way he could tell them the truth about Eren.

“Well, Hanji-”

 “Doesn’t count,” Ymir shook her head.  “I already told you, she is your friend.  What about the others?”

“No,” he sighed in defeat.

“If you needed help getting out of a pickle, would you be able to call on one of your old friends to help you?  Any one of them?”

“Not at the moment, no…”

“What about these guys?  Do you think they would hesitate to help you?”

He didn’t even have to think about it, the answer just popped into his head.  Of course they wouldn’t.  They were young, and maybe couldn’t always help him, but he was sure they would try their best.  He smiled despite himself.

“No.  They wouldn’t, would they?”

“Damn right, they wouldn’t!” she exclaimed, smacking his back for emphasis.

He glared up at her.  That hurt dammit.

“Quit being a whiney loser, Levi,” she demanded.  “Come.  Be a drunk loser.  Like the rest of us.”

“Fine,” he raised his glass to toast.  “Here’s to conformity.”

Ymir laughed heartily as she brought up her glass and clinked it with his.

 

\---

 

The drive to the city wasn’t very long, but traffic was horrible.  It was Saturday night, so of course it was to be expected.  Everyone was going the same way, although to slightly different destinations.  There were a lot of nightclubs, bars, shows and fancy restaurants that you had to make a reservation for months in advance.  That was just the nature of big cities such as this one.  When they got near, they were greeted by giant skyscrapers marking the famous downtown district; the lights within the towering buildings sparkling brightly against the darkening sky.  The sun was still not done setting; the opposing horizon was ablaze with a bright orange and slightly yellow tint fading to surreal smoky fire red clouds with long wisps of soft grey and pink clouds blending day and night together for the few moments of daylight that remained.

Downtown was not their destination, so they drove past it and by the time they got to the strip it was completely dark.  They couldn’t see any stars due to the city lights and the haze of the marine layer.  The club itself was only one of many along the famous strip, the boulevard was dotted with them along with fancy hotels and restaurants where only the rich and famous could afford to eat and stay.  But none of that mattered to them; they were just here for the music.  It was a tiny little old brick building with nearly no windows- meaning no ventilation- meaning it would be hot as a sauna once the concert was fully underway.  Guess that’s why they sold plenty of ice cold beer and other ice blended cocktails.  Funny how that worked out.

Once inside, it wasn’t that bad.  There were two levels- the top one being shaped like an open U, almost like a balcony so at least everyone wasn’t crammed into one spot like sardines.  There were monitors in each corner so you wouldn’t miss any of the performance no matter where you were and a huge monitor above the rather small stage.  There were two giant speakers directly in front of the stage guarded by security in case anyone got the bright idea to try and climb them.  By the time they got in there was already an opening band playing their little hearts out to an uninterested crowd.  It must have been tough for them, but you had to start somewhere.

It’s a good thing they were all carrying their cells phones, because there was no way he would ever be able to pick any of them out from this crowd.  Black was the color of choice, whether it be jeans, t-shirts or leather.  There was a lot of metal; accessories, piercings, embellishments on clothing, buckles- you name it, everyone had it.  Tattoos were on full display and hair was that was a natural color was extremely hard to find.  It was either dyed the darkest of black or loud and intense primary colors. 

The group dispersed immediately as was their plan.  Apparently there was a rumor that members of other popular bands were going to be amongst the crowd and they wanted the chance to meet them.  Why they were there was the subject of a little debate amongst the group.  Half of them said they were fans who wanted to check out the other’s work.  The other half felt they just wanted to be there in case something went down.  Either way, the air was electric with excitement and everyone was buzzing with anticipation.  Levi hadn’t been to a concert like this since his teens and he felt like a kid in a candy store. 

Levi and Eren headed to the bar to get drinks and then headed upstairs to avoid the rough crowd on the first level. 

“Are you sure you’re ok with this, Levi?” Eren asked with a worried expression.  He had to shout to be heard over the music and noise.  “If you really hate it we could always just call a taxi and go home.”

“No way brat,” Levi smirked.  “You hyped up Dinosaur Puppy Farm so much, there’s no way I can leave without judging them for myself.  It’s important to know if your boyfriend has shit taste in music.”

Eren laughed and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. 

“If I do, there’s nothing you can do about it,” he teased.  “You’re stuck with me now.  Even if it turns out I like Barry Manilow.”

“Who?” Levi frowned.

Eren rolled his eyes.  “Ugh, nevermind!”

Levi threw his arms around Eren’s neck, gazing into his boyfriend’s eyes.  Eren lifted him up and set him on top of the metal railing effectively trapping him and kissing him hungrily.

“Ahem…” they suddenly heard from somewhere beside them.  They both turned to face Marco, who was fighting a smile.  “So… is there something you guys have been keeping from the rest of us?”

Levi felt his face flush slightly.  He got off the railing to stand next to Eren.  They hadn’t really told the rest of the group yet.  Ymir, Krista and Hanji only knew because of circumstances, but the rest of them probably still thought Jean and Eren were together. 

“Jean and Eren broke up,” Levi blurted, feeling guilty under Marco’s amused expression.

“Ok, well that’s good at least,” Marco laughed.  “I’d hate to think you guys were sneaking around behind his back.”

Levi knew the freckled kid was teasing, but technically he wasn’t really far from the truth. 

“He broke up with me last week, actually,” Eren felt the need to interject.

Marco seemed to be confused suddenly.

“He broke up with _you_?” it seemed like he found that hard to believe.  “Why? I mean- if it’s ok to ask, that is…”

Eren shrugged.  “He said there was someone else.”

Levi stiffened, the way Eren said that made it sound like Jean was already with someone else.  But was he?  He hadn’t really asked him about it.  He watched as Marco’s face fell for a split second, then he tried to cover up by laughing. 

“Well, he was always popular, so I guess it makes sense,” he said as normally as he could manage, but Levi could detect a bit of shakiness in his voice.  “Well, have fun guys.”

With that he turned and left, disappearing into the crowd and smoke.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha haha, I'm losing my sanity...


	20. The Concert Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concert goes into full swing and Levi meets someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New month, new chapter. Wow, I am so sorry guys! I was trying to write a side thing to go with this and then school started and I just needed to get organized, ya know?
> 
> Thanks for kicking my butt into gear XsamakiX. <3  
> I think I really needed it because I was becoming a total slacker. =\

* * *

 

“Jean’s with someone else?”  Levi asked Eren once Marco was out of earshot. 

Eren stared down at him with large confused eyes.

“He is?”

Levi looked up at him incredulously then smacked him upside the head.  He may love his boyfriend, but some things were still unacceptable.

“Ow!  What was _that_ for?!” Eren asked, trying to sound outraged, but he laughed a little bit.  Levi supposed it was because he’d had to make effort to reach him as usual.  One day.  One day his height would stop being so funny.  Of course, god knows when that would be.

“You just made Marco believe Jean is dating someone… and you don’t even know if it’s true?!”

Eren’s eyes shot up to the ceiling.  He mulled it over for a moment before smiling innocently and shrugging.  Levi let out an exasperated breath.

“Really, Eren?  Really?”

“Well,” Eren hesitated, trying to recollect exactly what Jean had said.  “I may have gotten his exact wording confused.  I mean, after he broke up with me- and I do mean almost _seconds_ afterwards- he started filling me in on what went on while I was gone.  And uh… I guess I got distracted.”

The shorter man rolled his eyes.

“It’s not my fault!  He was telling me about how sad and mopey you were-”

Sad?  Mopey?!  No no no no no.  Levi was often described as many things.  Most of them were along the lines of cold, unfeeling, unsociable, angry and downright hostile maybe.  But the words ‘sad’ and mopey’ were _none_ of those things. 

“He fucking _said_ that?” Levi was outraged.  Who did that two toned haired brat think he was, ratting him out like that?

“Yeah!  And it was just so…”

Levi shot a hostile look up at Eren. 

“Don’t you fucking dare say-”

“-adorable!” the word escaped the demon’s mouth before he could stop himself.  Eren put his arms up defensively when he noticed the death glare Levi was giving him.  “Oh shit!  I’m sorry, all right?   But Levi… how is that _my_ fault?  You’re just too cute sometimes.  I can’t handle it!”

Levi felt his face heat up.  Too cute?  Adorable?  How had he let things come to this?  He looked away, crossing his arms and huffing angrily.  It didn’t last long of course when he was suddenly scooped up into Eren’s arms yet again.

“You mad?”  Eren asked innocently.  He nibbled playfully at Levi’s jawline. 

“Maybe,” Levi tried to say convincingly, but the goose bumps currently forming up and down his arms and back were making it exceedingly difficult.

“How can I make it up to you?”  Eren’s voice was husky.  Levi shivered involuntarily. 

“I’m sure we’ll find a way later, brat,” he replied breathily, smiling despite himself.  “But in the meantime, you have to fix what you broke.  Go find Marco and clear things up.”

Eren groaned.  “Right now?”

“Yes!  He’s probably going to have a shitty time tonight if you don’t talk to him.  And it will be all your fault!”

Eren pouted and was just about to complain when he suddenly paused.  Levi could swear that his ears perked up like a cat hearing a can opener.

The opening band had just finished their set and had now started putting away their instruments.  They did manage to get a decent amount of applause from the seemingly apathetic crowd, so they left without feeling too big of a blow to their self esteem.  Generic rock music came on over the speakers above.  Eren gasped excitedly and almost dropped Levi in his fangirling. 

“Levi!” he squealed like a giddy child.  “Battered Orphans is on next!”

“Eren, you need to find Marco!”

“Aw come on, I’ll send him a text.  The whole point of this evening was for us to enjoy a concert together.” 

Levi raised an eyebrow at him but was ignored.

“Come on!”

Eren quickly set him down, and after sending a quick text to Marco he grabbed Levi’s wrist and led them towards the bar.  Apparently you needed to be sufficiently liquored up to get the full experience that was Battered Orphans.  Or Dinosaur Puppy Farm.  Or- let’s face it, pretty much _any_ rock band.  The smoke that filled the club wasn’t exactly Marlboro either.  Levi wondered if Eren wasn’t already loopy with the mixture of booze and second hand bong.  He was sure there were all kinds of other surprises being dropped into people’s drinks or taken voluntarily.  He sighed wearily, feeling old again. 

Damn kids.

He was not surprised when Eren ordered him a long island iced tea while getting another beer for himself.  It wasn’t hard to guess where this evening was headed.  Again Levi glared at him while the demon only smiled innocently. 

How could anything that guy do be even remotely innocent?  Devilish bastard. 

Witchcraft.  That was definitely it.  Eren had somehow used witchcraft and that’s why Levi wasn’t able to resist him.  There was just no other explanation. 

Levi’s scowl was replaced with a look of delighted surprise when he took a sip of his drink.  Then another.  Then another.  Heavens!  What was in these things?  He wanted a thousand of them!

Everyone was gathering near the stage in anticipation of Battered Orphans’ performance.  Eren used his taller physique to shield Levi as he pushed his way closer to the front.  You would think people would glare at their rudeness, but no.  Everyone was looking like ‘Fuck yeah! Aggression!’  The buzz of anticipation (and probably the buzz of a great many other things) was palpable in the air and in everyone’s half crazed expressions.  Every time a body was seen on stage fiddling with one of the instruments the crowd shrieked like a pack of banshees in hope that it was finally the band getting ready to perform.  It was just some random roadie though, tuning the instrument or making sure everything was in working order.  The crowd was getting louder, the floor was getting crowded and soon they were packed in like sardines just as Levi had initially feared. 

A couple fans who he supposed couldn’t contain their excitement started shoving people around and got hoots and hollers from the surrounding crowd, egging them on.  Levi expected a scuffle to break out right in front of them, but instead some others joined in and continued in their playful crazy shove match until security came to break them up.  The crowd booed loudly when two young men were hauled off with pushes and shoves from security.  The guys were not fazed in the slightest.  They were flipping everyone off, grinning from ear to ear knowing they’d be back in a few moments as if nothing had transpired. 

Levi lost his hearing for a split second when the crowd spontaneously shrieked, screamed and whistled around him.  The band had taken the stage and Eren was jumping excitedly beside him also screaming at the top of his lungs.  This was it.  Things were going to get crazy.  His whole body hummed with anticipation. 

“Everybody!  How ya doing???”

What the fuck?  The leader singer (he supposed that is who was addressing the crowd) was a freaking kid!  He was tall and skinny with shaggy dark brown hair and light sun kissed skin.  He was dressed in torn dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a red and grey flannel.  He could have been any kid walking around in any random Game Stop, but here he was fronting a popular indie rock band.  The crowd responded wildly, frantically shouting their hearts out.  Wolf whistles and declarations of love could be heard echoing loudly inside the small venue.

_Yes, yes._   Levi thought sardonically.  _I’m sure the frontman will be_ more _than happy to father_ ALL _your children._  

The singer smiled broadly before yelling into the mic, “Are you ready to fuck things up?!”

The whole room seemed to vibrate with everyone’s shrilling affirmations.  There were no little speeches, no cute little quips or side stories, the band got right down to business and everyone went wild.  Fast drums, frenzied guitar strumming and strained vocal chords: it was amazing and the crowd couldn’t get enough.  The guys were young, very young.  They couldn’t be more than a couple of years into adulthood.  Despite their youth Levi still couldn’t figure out how the band had so much energy and stamina to keep up the unreal pace of the music.  A couple of songs in and the group was already dripping sweat and trying to cool off with Heineken yet they looked as suave and unperturbed as if they were posing for a casual photo shoot.  Damn they looked sexy.  Now he could finally understand Krista and Mikasa’s excitement about possibly being drenched in their sweat.  It could _literally_ happen, they were so close.

The lead singer came near the front of the stage to high five some fans and everyone that was nearby started yelling for him to jump in.  He made as if he was going to do just that and backed away playfully to which everyone whined and begged for him to come back and jump.  Security was looking around nervously hoping to dear god that he would not.  It was clear how much the group loved their craft and Levi found that this fact made their music all the more enjoyable.  The other members egged the singer on, smiling unapologetically the whole time they were betraying their leader.  At the end of the lyrics of a song which had quite a long guitar solo as an ending he turned back as if to ask for final permission from his band mates and after receiving enthusiastic nods he casually walked to the front of the crowd, dropped the microphone and let himself fall in casually as fuck.

The crowd went wild as they reached up to catch him and passed him on from hand to hand trying to keep him in circulation as long as they could.  Security of course panicked and soon enough they were pushing through the crowd trying to get him down and away from everyone.  All the fans blocked their way as much as they could, obviously wanting to keep this up for as long as they could.  A lot of fans took video of his surfing the crowd and others took advantage of the fact that  security was preoccupied with getting the singer back onstage to keep them from climbing and jumping off it.  Eren grabbed Levi and headed towards the stage the minute he realized the opportunity was there.  Levi at first was confused, but once he realized what the demon’s intention was, he panicked and tried to dig in his heels. 

No.   _Hell no_ was he going to stage dive. 

Unfortunately he couldn’t protest because the mixture of the crowd and music was too loud.  Plus Eren was way stronger than him so there was no way he was going to be able to stop him.

And that is the story of how Levi- a grown man with a growing career, who had up until this point deemed himself a respectable, responsible member of society- succumbed to the dark side and followed Eren up onto the stage.  He ignored his frantically beating heart and instead focused on the crowd cheering him on below.  They wanted him to dive in.  They beckoned him.  Even the rest of the band was cheering him on, he could hear them hollering at him off to the side.  He turned to look at them.  They were still playing like the devil had possessed their hands, yet they still looked like they were having the time of their life.  Lucky bastards.

Well.  If _they_ were ok with this…

He pushed off the stage and let himself fall into the hands waiting below. 

Fuck it hurt. 

With the impact of his dive, he almost fell on the ground, but the crowd grabbed whatever they could of his clothing, making sure he didn’t fall and then propelled him onto his back carrying him away in their arms, passing him on from hand to hand, everybody doing their part to keep him going everybody keeping him in the air as if it was an unwritten law: keep him in the air for as long as possible.  Keep him away from security.  He was floating along in a sea of people, strangers he’d never seen before in his life and was almost sure he’d never run into again.  It was surreal.  It was amazing.  He found himself struggling to keep from laughing out loud.  Ok, but that aside- it was by no means gentle.  He was sure he would be feeling this in the morning.   

When the singer was back onstage and the band finished the song Levi was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor.  He managed to land on his feet, but he may have landed wrong because he felt a shooting pain in his ankle upon impact.  He limped over to Eren, who noticed right away and kept Levi safely by his side for the rest of the set.  They went to get more drinks and then stayed off to side of the ruckus in the mosh pit where they could still enjoy being up close but keep Levi from getting injured some more.  Towards the end, the crowd roared and begged for more, but unfortunately the band’s time was up since they had to share the night with Dinosaur Puppy Farm.  Everyone awed loudly but the singer told them they’d be sure to schedule more tour dates in town for them.  Then he told them he loved them all and walked off the stage waving.

Levi took advantage of the intermission to scold Eren.

“I really have to pee, so in the meantime you need to go and find Marco.”

Eren huffed.  “I can’t leave you all alone when you’re injured, Levi!”

“Now!” Levi left no room for argument.

Eren groaned.  “Fiiiineeee!  But check your phone, I’ll be texting you if I don’t find you in the bathrooms.”

“Yes mom,” Levi rolled his eyes. 

Eren strutted off with a determined look in his face.  If only, Levi thought.  The moment that boy got distracted by something else, all that determination will have been for naught.  He sighed at his boyfriend’s cute little flaws.  No one was perfect.

He must have been more than a little tipsy because he found it hard to walk normally without Eren’s support.  It wasn’t just his ankle that was bothering him; he was kind of swaying, maybe having a little problem with his balance.  He was also having a hard time focusing his vision.  Even his thoughts seemed to be scattered.  Damn, those long island iced teas were potent!  He made his way to the bathroom and was glad he was not a chick because the line to _that_ bathroom was out the door and wrapped around a wall.  Levi thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t have to wait in that kind of line because he would most surely pee his pants.  Also, he couldn’t stand most public restrooms and he thanked the heavens that he could pee standing up. 

Once inside he was disgusted to see that there _was_ a line for the urinals.  But… there was one empty stall.  Well, it’s not like he _had_ to use the toilet.  It wasn’t required- he could just pee in it like at home.  He shuffled past the other guys who seemed to be too absorbed in their own little worlds to notice him anyway.  He locked the door behind him and relieved himself. 

Ahh… that felt nice.

Once he was done though, something happened that he couldn’t… really… explain.  Where the fuck did the door handle go?  He focused on the toilet and knew it had to be directly opposite that, right?  But when he turned around, there was nothing there.  What the fuck?  He repeated his action several times and almost burst out laughing.  Ok, this didn’t make any sense.  He must have gotten in somehow.  So he should be able to get out the same way, right?  He turned several times making himself so dizzy he lost his balance and had to prop himself up against the stall wall. 

No door handle.  Hmm…

Someone… help…

He almost sent Eren a text to come get him, but somewhere, somehow in the back of his mind he realized how utterly stupid that sounded.  He decided instead to casually- _really_ , _really_ casually- crouch down onto the floor and crawl out of the stall.  Again, no one seemed to notice.  He looked back at the stall and there was the fucking door handle.  Well, a fuck lot of good that did him now that he was _outside_ the stall. 

Stupid door.

He washed up thoroughly, used a wet towel to wipe his clothes off where they had made contact with the ground and shuffled off to find Eren.  He checked his phone, but had no messages.  Where was that guy?  He went to the bar to get a glass of water (he desperately needed one at this point), but Eren wasn’t around there either.  Sighing impatiently, he decided to just stay put.  The bar was the most likely place Eren would come looking for him, so why make things more difficult.  He stood against the wall, scanning the crowd for his boyfriend and keeping his hand on his phone in case it buzzed.  He made sure to put on his most unapproachable scowl.  He didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and think he liked to make small talk or some shit like that.

He’d been waiting for about fifteen minutes and getting very impatient when someone decided it was a smart idea to stand right next to him.  Seriously, no personal space.  The dude’s arm was literally close enough to brush up against his own.  He was just about to push off the wall and walk off in his most annoyed manner when the guy spoke.

“I’ve never encountered anyone like you before,” he said in a deep sensual voice.  

Levi flushed.  Was this a pick up line?  He wasn’t used to people hitting on him with so much… confidence.  Fear?  Yes.  Arrogance?  Yes.  Stupidity?  All the time.  But confidence?  Never. 

He turned up to look at the stranger… and kept looking up and up and up.  Damn he was tall!  _And_ he was hot.  He had a full head of thick lustrous dark hair.  His eyes were a soft hazel green which gave his face a kind look.  He was dressed in black jeans, a heather gray tank top that did nothing to hide his massive muscular chest and a denim colored blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show his powerful forearms.  Of course his shirt _wasn’t_ buttoned up.  It was obviously necessary for everyone to get a good long look at the washboard stomach that his tight fitting tank top did not hide at all.  Yes, it was necessary.

The stranger smirked at the way Levi was drinking him in.  Arrogance.  Clearly he was used to this kind of reaction. 

“Tch!  Not interested,” he said haughtily.

The stranger gave a derisive laugh. 

“Aw.  Don’t be mad.  I wasn’t hitting on you, I was just… curious.”

Levi furrowed his eyebrows.  What the fuck was he talking about?

“About what?”

“I’m not the only one,” he continued, ignoring Levi’s question.  “We were all curious, to be honest.”

What, was he speaking in riddles now?

“Okay…,” Levi muttered for lack of anything better to say.  “Well, I have to go now-”

“If you’re waiting for Eren, he’s still outside speaking to Marco.”

Oh.  He must be another one of those brat’s friends.  Shit.  He felt kind of like a jerk now, having jumped to conclusions.  Maybe he was the arrogant one here.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were a friend of theirs,” Levi apologized, trying to sound sincere. 

That still didn’t explain what he meant by his earlier comment though.  Something didn’t quite sit right with this guy.

“I’m sorry to sound so forward, but…” the stranger looked down at Levi again.  He had the weirdest expression his face.  Levi didn’t know how to describe it exactly.  His lips looked like they were fighting a smile, but the rest of his face looked like it was struggling not to frown or glare maybe.  “What exactly is your relationship to Eren?”

Ok, yet another weird thing to say.  What was up with this guy?

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said,” he said without batting an eyelash.  “What _are_ you to Eren?  Why is he spending so much time with you?  What power do you have over him?  None of us has been able to figure it out.”

Levi wasn’t sure what to answer.  Eren was his boyfriend and their closest friends knew that.  Despite the fact that this guy was a part of Eren’s group of friends, he was a stranger as far as Levi was concerned.  So why was he asking such personal questions?  First of all, it was none of his business.  If Eren wanted him to know he would have told him already.  Second of all, it felt like he was talking down to him, like he wasn’t good enough to be with Eren, and that pissed Levi off.  Only Eren could decide if Levi was good enough for him or not and this tall sack of douche had no say in it. 

“I _have_ no power over Eren,” Levi replied angrily.  “He’s with me because he wants to be.  If you think that’s a problem, you can just fuck off!”

The guy broke out into a fit of barely contained laughter.  This only made Levi more pissed. 

“Wow!  Things certainly aren’t boring with you around, are they little man?”

Levi glared up at him.  The fuck did he just call him? 

“Aw, there you go getting mad again.  Seriously, how can Eren put up with this kind of thing on a constant basis?  It must be… exhausting!”

And that did it.

“Look _asshole_!” he spat out.  “Eren and I are none of your business!  And we most certainly are _not_ your entertainment!  _Again_ , if you have a problem with that, you can just jump back into whatever fucking hole you crawled out of!”

Suddenly the guy was directly in front of him so fast Levi barely had time to register the movement.  He was glaring down at Levi menacingly, though he still had a smile on his face.  Levi gulped when he thought he saw a flash of red in the taller man’s eyes.

“I do apologize, I’m not used to having to deal with these kinds of… _feelings_.  None of my kind is.”

 

Shit.

 

“By the way, my name is Bertholt. 

 

 

And Eren is _not_ my friend.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like where this is headed now. I feel evil again.  
> He he he


	21. The Concert Finale (Mayhem)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concert comes to an end, and this is one evening Levi will never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo...  
> this happened~

* * *

 

 

He looked so… _normal._  

Levi’s mind raced as Bertholdt continued staring him down.  He didn’t even have those wonky eyes like the others.  Levi would have never noticed he wasn’t human if he hadn’t given himself away.  The demon sounded and acted completely normal, so that meant he was at least as strong as Eren if not more so.  And while Levi was strong for a human, there was no way he’d be able to put up any kind of fight with a demon of that strength.  He couldn’t even try to run away with his injured ankle right now.  It really didn’t matter though, he was not going to back down.  It simply wasn’t in his nature to do so.

“If I have to ask you again, little man… I am going to lose my patience,” Bertholdt said in a condescending tone.

Levi bristled.  “If you think threatening me is going to get you any answers, then you are fucking out of your mind,” he retorted saucily.  “My answer will always be the same.  _None of your goddamn business and fuck off_!”

The demon smirked down at him, his eyes shining with merriment.

“Well now,” he gave a little laugh.  “Either you have no idea what you’re dealing with, or you’re talking out of your ass.”  He eyed Levi knowingly, bringing a finger up to his chin as if he was thinking this over.  “Guess which one _I_ think it is, ‘short stack?’”

Levi’s eyes widened.  Exactly how much did this guy know about him?  The demon smirked, content at having been able to shake him up. 

“Did I get that right?  That _is_ what you allow that arrogant little witch to call you, is it not?”

Levi looked him up and down.  He wasn’t going to get bullied by this guy or by anyone.  That was a decision he’d made a long time ago, and he wasn’t going to change now.

“I know what you are,” he said through gritted teeth.  “And I don’t care.  I don’t care if you kidnap me and torture me.  Whatever.  You’re not going to get to Eren by using me.  I’m not going to play along with your games.”

Bertholt laughed heartily.  It was creepy to watch, what with him being so jolly green giant and all. 

“Kidnap?  Torture?!  You assume we’re interested in keeping you alive?” he said between outbursts. 

Ok, yes maybe Levi had assumed that.  A little bit. 

“Wow!  Humans really _are_ arrogant creatures,” he tskd loudly.  “Our doctors can get answers from you whether you cooperate or not.  And quite frankly, your being alive is… well… optional,” he ended with a shrug.

Levi really hated feeling defenseless, but right now it was a something he couldn’t avoid.  In his previous barely caring existence, he would have embraced this as a challenge.  Sure the odds were against him, but he liked the feeling of succeeding when he was the obvious underdog.  Rubbing defeat in his opponents face was something he had lived for in his teens.  Things were different now.  His life was no longer just his.  He couldn’t afford to be so reckless with his own well being.  He had someone who was important to him, someone he valued and didn’t want to be without.  He needed to buy some time.

“You can cut the crap,” he growled up at the giant demon.  “I’m sure you don’t give a flying fuck about my relationship with Eren.”  

Bertholdt chuckled, seemingly amused.  “You may have a point there…”

“You’re here for the same reason as those other sorry excuses for demons.  How boring!  And here I was hoping you would at least be a little bit more original.”

“Ah!  So you know,” Bertholdt was staring at him with ever widening eyes as though he were entranced.  “Then just tell me one thing and I promise I will leave you alone.  Well, for now anyway.”  He tilted his head with curiosity, his eyes boring into Levi’s.  “What exactly _are_ you?”

Levi huffed, crossing his arms defensively. 

“I don’t know anything, all right?” he said honestly.  “I didn’t even know I _was_ different until Ymir told me.”

Bertholt studied him carefully for a long moment and finally seemed to accept the honesty in his words.  This left him looking perplexed. 

“You’ve never noticed _anything_ weird or off previously in your life?” he seemed genuinely interested in knowing.

“No, I had a pretty boring shitty life,” Levi shrugged, answering honestly.  “Things only started getting weird after I met Eren.  But Ymir says Eren noticed something strange about me from the start.  Neither of them has been able to give me an answer.”

“Haven’t been _able_ to… or haven’t been _willing_ to?”

Levi glared up at him.  He’d been struggling with this same feeling that those two were still keeping information from him for a while, but he knew if he brought it up they would just shrug it off or excuse it away, so he’d said nothing. 

“Even if they knew, they wouldn’t tell you would they?” the demon said with something resembling pity in his tone.

“No.  I don’t think they would,” Levi agreed bitterly.

Suddenly the taller man started to lean into him, his soft hazel green eyes fixed on Levi’s stormy grey ones the whole time.  Levi’s body immediately shot into defensive mode, the sudden action causing him to shift his weight onto his bad ankle involuntarily.  It was impossible to keep the painful hiss from escaping his mouth and his face from twisting in obvious discomfort.  Bertholdt narrowed his eyes momentarily, taking in Levi’s reaction.  Then he continued to lean in until he could get a good whiff of Levi right behind his ear.  The taller man’s breath on his skin gave him goosebumps and caused him to shudder to his great annoyance.  Levi scowled.  He didn’t like anyone having this kind of effect on him, much less someone he didn’t even know.  When apparently one long sniff wasn’t enough, the demon took his time taking his scent in at his leisure.  Levi wasn’t sure what the demon’s intentions were, but he was ready to retaliate if it wasn’t to his liking. 

Nothing happened though, Bertholdt slowly returned to his previous stance, his brows furrowed in confusion, the tall man obviously struggling to make sense of the information he’d just taken from the smaller man. 

“You are ill,” he said solemnly with a frown. 

“Yeah,” Levi answered more than a little surprised. 

If this guy could tell so easily, then surely Eren must also know.  And if that was true, then why hadn’t he said anything?  Maybe… maybe he just didn’t care.  Not really.  He said he loved him and he’d never had any reason to doubt him, but now there was this and Levi found he couldn’t just ignore it.  He suddenly felt a nausea that had nothing to do with all the drinks he’d had that evening.

“You can tell by just sniffing me like a dog?” 

Bertholdt gave him a sideways glance, but chose to let the insult go.  Instead he sighed as though a heavy weight was just dropped onto his shoulders. 

“You are ill and you are injured,” he sounded disappointed.  “I sincerely do not think our illustrious leader had expected this kind of an outcome.”

“Your leader?” Levi asked curiously.  So he was just a henchman?

The tall demon gave a simple nod in affirmation, not bothering to expand on the subject.  Not that Levi expected him to.

“At least one mystery has been cleared up though,” he said with a bit of dark amusement.  Levi bit down his urge to ask what that was, but he didn’t have to because suddenly Bertholdt’s hand shot out and grabbed Levi by his wrist.  The taller man twisted Levi’s arm, bringing the palm of his hand up for closer inspection.  Levi didn’t have to ask to know he was referring to his demon mark.  He didn’t like the way Bertholdt was leering down at him either.  He pulled his arm back angrily earning him a derisive laugh from the demon.

“Let me take a wild… _wild_ guess,” he taunted.  “He didn’t tell you what that was either, did he?”

Levi glared up at him half-heartedly.  He had a feeling he was not going to like hearing this either.

“He didn’t want to tell me,” he said quietly.

“So you asked him?” the taller man seemed a little surprised.  “Hmm.  Can’t blame him for keeping it from you.” 

Levi felt his eyes sting and it was painful to swallow all of a sudden.  Did he really want to hear this?  Yes, he decided, he needed to hear this, even if it was from this asshole.  His boyfriend liked to keep him in the dark, and it was looking more and more like it was for his own convenience rather than for any regard for Levi’s safety like he claimed, and that was something he wasn’t very happy about.  He needed to know, and Bertholdt was willing to tell him.

“Well,” he bit out impatiently.  “Are you going to tell me, or are you just going to be an ass about it.  What does it fucking mean?”

“It’s a sign to other demons,” well that much Levi had figured.  “It warns them to keep their hands off you.”  That wasn’t a surprise.  Eren had hinted at that.  Bertholdt wasn’t done though.  Levi could feel his heart pounding in his ears.  Maybe he wasn’t ready to hear this after all.  “He has labeled you his… _plaything_.”

Levi slumped against the wall.  His head was spinning, his body limp.  He slowly lowered his gaze down to his shoes, fighting the wetness that threatened behind his eyes.  Any fight he’d had in him flew out the window as soon as he heard those words. 

_Demons don’t lie._   The thought screamed at him in the back of his mind.

“Play…thing?” he asked weakly, his voice barely audible.

“Well, I could phrase it a little more colorfully, but-”

“No, please don’t.  I get it.”

Lies!  Had they all been lies?  But how could they be?  Eren was a demon, he couldn’t lie.  He’d said he loved him.  He’d said it many times.  But Bertholdt was also a demon, and he also couldn’t lie.  What did this mean, then?  He felt like he was going to lose his mind.

Levi contemplated his next move carefully.  Both Eren and Bertholdt were telling the truth, they had to be, but they both couldn’t be one hundred percent correct.  One of them was keeping information from him in order to benefit their own agenda.  But which one?  And what could that agenda be? 

“If I come willingly…” Levi started. 

The demon lifted his chin, making their eyes meet. 

 “You want to come with me… willingly?” he asked.  There was no sign of ridicule or judgment in his face. 

“ _If_ ,” Levi stressed the word, knocking his hand away.  “If I come willingly… are you able to help me find out what I am?”

“Yes,” the demon smiled widely. 

“And you will answer _all_ my questions?  Truthfully?”

“Of course.”

He locked gazes with the demon before asking this final question.

“Will I be able to come back here… if I want to?”

“Absolutely.” 

He’d looked him straight in the eye.  There was no hesitation, no fidgeting.  Nothing questionable whatsoever.  He must be telling the truth.

Did he really want to trust him over Eren though?

 

No, he didn’t. 

No matter how genuine Bertholdt appeared to be and how willing he was to help him, he just couldn’t do this.  He wanted answers, yes, he wanted them very badly.  But not from this guy, and certainly not by abandoning the man he loved.  He wanted- no he _needed_ Eren to clear things up for him because he was really fucking confused right now.

“You want to believe in _him_ , don’t you?”

Levi was brought back to the present by this strange question.  It was as though Bertholdt could read his mind.

“Don’t pretend to be so shocked.  You humans wear your emotions plainly for everyone to see.  You don’t have to decide here today.  You know my name now, so you can call on me when you’re ready.”

Bertholdt reached up to wipe a rebel tear that had managed to escape without Levi’s permission.  The shorter man was just about to swat his hand away when the taller man was knocked over sideways right in front of him, tackled down by a blur which was a very angry demon Levi knew very well.

“STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!” he heard Eren roar.

Levi looked on in bewilderment as his boyfriend struggled on the ground with the taller demon, Eren trying to land a punch and Bertholdt effectively blocking him repeatedly.  Bertholdt managed to wrench himself away from Eren just long enough to bring himself to a staggering upright stance, but Eren managed to grab him by his shirt collar, keeping him in place just long enough so he could effectively punch him right in the face.  The taller man, though obviously in pain from the blow, just chuckled softly, not even trying to fight back.   

“Eren!” Levi yelled angrily.  “Eren stop!”

He couldn’t tell if Eren couldn’t hear him or if he was just ignoring him.  He rammed into Bertholdt with all his might, knocking him against the wall behind them with a loud thud knocking the wind out of the taller demon.  Grinning maniacally he then he raised his hand to land another blow.  This time he managed to hit him square in the jaw.  Blood trickled down the demon’s chin from where his lip was now split.

“Eren don’t!” Levi cried, but again his effort to get his attention was ignored.

A crowd was now gathered around them, talking excitedly in their drunkenness, theorizing out loud what might had started the brawl and speculating which of the two involved would be victorious.  Levi couldn’t stand the attention.  He couldn’t stand the way everyone was giving him sideways glances, their eyes judging him and not in a very friendly manner as far as he could tell.  He almost turned around and marched out of the club altogether. 

Eren’s hand was caught mid-air by a big blonde guy with weirdly shaped eyebrows.  The big guy twisted his arm behind him, trapped him in a wrestle type hold and pulled him off Bertholdt.  Eren cursed wildly, demanding angrily to be freed.  Bertholdt stood up straight and dusted himself off, eyeing Eren menacingly.  Levi’s first instinct was to run over to his boyfriend’s side, but his ankle painfully reminded him that he could only hobble over slowly at best. 

Bertholdt saw Levi coming and raised his hands in a show of truce.  That took the edge off Levi’s nerves since he was still limping over at a less than ideal speed.  They weren’t even that far away, curse his stupid ankle! 

“Let go of me asshole!”  Eren was still struggling in the big blonde’s iron grip. 

“Calm down.  We were just talking,” Bertholdt calmly said to Eren while nursing his bruised jaw.  His soothing voice was a stark contradiction to his fiery eyes. 

“Is it necessary to keep him in a vice grip still, goldilocks?” Levi grumbled.  To his surprise, the blonde chuckled merrily at the insult.

“Let him go Reiner!” Levi suddenly heard Ymir snarl angrily behind him.  Krista was standing off by the bar, looking on with large worried eyes.

“Guys!” the big blonde, Reiner apparently, exclaimed.  “I’m not even _doing_ anything to him.  He’s the one who attacked Bertholdt for no reason,” he continued almost apologetically.  He released Eren and walked over to stand by Bertholdt.  “Eren, why are you even so angry?”

“Shut up!” Eren growled.  “I saw the way he was pawing at Levi.  He has no right to touch him!”

Most of the crowd suddenly dispersed.  Dinosaur Puppy Farm was just about to take the stage.

Bertholdt rolled his eyes.  “Come now.  I wasn’t _pawing_ at anybody.  As I said… we were just talking.”

Eren looked over to his boyfriend seeking confirmation of the taller demon’s statement.  His large eyes were shifting between glowing red demon anger and his usual emerald green gaze full of concern.  Levi took a deep breath.  He didn’t want to get into a fight with Eren; not here, not over something like this.

“Yes, we were just talking,” he confirmed trying to sound as calm as he could.  Not an easy feat considering he had to yell to be heard above the loud cheering of rabid fans and even louder drumming, guitars and vocals of the popular punk band.

“What’s going on over here?” three big security guys suddenly appeared from within the gaps in the crowd.  They stalked over purposefully with an air of hostility. 

“You guys wanna take this outside?  We’ll be more than happy to escort you out!”

“That won’t be necessary,” Bertholdt assured smoothly.  “We’ve got it handled.”

The security guards eyed the group skeptically, clearly not liking the imposing combination they made and decided they were more trouble than they were worth.

“I’m not sure I believe they can handle themselves.  Maybe they’ve been drinking a little too much.”  They spoke amongst themselves.

“I think they’re too big of a liability to the club.”

“I think some fresh air is exactly what they need.”

Well, so much for Dinosaur Puppy Farm, Levi thought with resignation.  They were going to get kicked out and the band was already onstage performing their dark little hearts out.  He supposed he and Eren could head out to a nearby bar and wait for the concert to be over.  Maybe grab something to eat.  There was no reason the rest of the group couldn’t enjoy the show.

“The girls were not involved, so there’s no need for them to get punished for this,” he told the security guys.

“That’s fine,” one of them smirked down at him.  “Ladies are always welcome to stay.”

Ymir glared at the guy and the idiot had the nerve to wink at her.  Clueless bastard.

“Whoah!  What’s going on here?” Jean suddenly appeared by the bar.  Marco was right behind him doing his best to look intimidating.

“Just doing our job, man.  These guys were fighting.  You know how it is.”

Jean scoffed.

“What, _these_ guys?” he motioned at Eren and Levi.  “These guys are my friends.  And they wouldn’t start something unless they were provoked.”

“That’s right, they wouldn’t!” Marco chimed in beside him.

Bertholdt looked on with mild curiosity while Reiner seemed to be utterly confused about what was going on.

“Is that right?” the biggest security guy said.  “Well, too bad for them.  It doesn’t matter who starts the party, bro.  Everyone involved goes!”  Jean bristled at the guy’s words.  Levi noticed how his arms balled up into fists at his side.  The security guy just laughed in his face.  “What, you want to join them tough guy?” he taunted.

Jean was so mad he was red in the face, Marco anxiously tried to calm him down.  In the end it all became wholly unnecessary because at that moment, the rumors everyone had feared came to fruition.

“I CAN READ YOUR LIPS MOTHERFUCKER!  YOU BETTER SHUT YOUR DAMN FACE!”

The music slowly came to a halt as the rest of the band realized their lead singer was no longer performing.  The three security thugs immediately turned and bolted for the stage.

“Oh shit!” Jean, Eren and Ymir said excitedly all at the same time. 

Eren scooped Levi up into his arms and ran with him towards the stage with everyone else following close behind.  They passed by confused fans who were frantically arching their necks trying to get a glimpse as to what was going on.  From what Levi could see, the rest of the band was trying to calm the singer down but it didn’t seem to be working.  He was pacing angrily on the stage shouting violently into the crowd.  At least they’d taken his mic away, so it wasn’t so easy to hear what he was shouting about.

“What’s the matter?  You mad now?  You angry?  Do you think this is what your fans came to see?  What a _fucking_ child!”

The shout came from one of the vip booths on the second floor.  It was front and center so the band onstage could see them clearly.  It was the drummer from Battered Orphans.

The audience was in a trance, too shocked by what was going on to react. 

The lead singer went wild with the taunt and struggled to get free of his bandmates.

“We left you the fuck alone during your set, you ungrateful shit!  You could at least show the same respect, asshole!”

 “Left us alone?  How fucking thoughtful of you!”  The drummer went into a fit of mock giggles.  “Oh, no.  No, wait.  As I recall, your exact words were ‘I don’t like to be pestered by needy whiny fans, those entitled shits think they own us’ and _that’s_ why you stay holed up in your dressing room.  Right?”

“You arrogant two-faced asshole!”  You could almost see the veins bulging in the lead singer’s forehead.  “I can’t believe we were ever friends!  Why don’t you come down here and say that to my face bitch!”

Rather than having their favorite drummer go down and get into a scuffle, one of his fans decided it was a good idea to send a half full beer bottle hurtling towards the singer onstage.  It managed to sprinkle a good number of concert goers before barely missing its mark and finally landing near their own drummer.  Security came onstage and tried to drag the now furious band members offstage to safety.  This divided the crowd into Battered Orphans fans versus Dinosaur Puppy Farm fans and a melee ensued. 

There was not enough security to break up the numerous resulting brawls and there were drinks being hurled everywhere.  They tried their best though, going after what seemed like the most dangerous altercations first.  They finally managed to drag the band offstage which made fans even angrier because now there would be no more show.  Jean decided this was their cue to vacate the premises and the others agreed unanimously.  Eren carried Levi out, shielding him from the brunt of the violence.  Ymir stayed close to Krista doing the same.

Bertholdt and Reiner had disappeared into the crowd, momentarily forgotten.

Once they were outside and a good distance away from the entrance, Marco texted the rest of the group so they’d know where to find them.  Sasha and Connie came out buzzing with energy like they were on a sugar high.  They immediately barraged the others with excited questions to see if they had missed anything.  For the most part their two stories coincided.  Mikasa and Armin walked over, all cool and collected like nothing at all has transpired.  If it wasn’t for the barely perceptible glint in Mikasa’s eyes, the group would have guessed that they had missed the whole thing.

“Mikasa caught it all on video!” Armin gloated mischievously.  “I just finished uploading it to YouTube.”

Everyone broke out their phone to see the footage, and sure enough, she had panned her phone to catch the best possible view each time and the sound was perfect.  It was already getting a lot of views and they had no doubt it would immediately go viral.  She and Armin high fived each other when they saw the positive reviews start to come in.

“You two are fucking dangerous,” Connie deadpanned, causing everyone to giggle.

“Levi, what happened to your foot?” Krista suddenly burst out. 

Everyone turned to look at him.

“It’s nothing,” he tried to brush off their concern, but he could feel his face heating up a little.

“Nothing?” Eren exclaimed.  “He hurt his ankle crowd surfing.”

The others hummed in approval.  Levi rolled his eyes.  Damn kids.

They waited outside until they could see everyone else starting to leave as well.  That was their signal that the concert had been officially cut short and there was no reason to stand around anymore.  They decided to stop by the first all night diner they encountered and have something to eat before heading back home. 

All in all, it had been a great evening.  One they all agreed they would never forget.

Levi kept his misgivings to himself.  This thing with Eren and the other demons was not something they could discuss with the other guys anyway.  It upset him that Jean, Marco and Krista had managed to get involved.  He hated knowing they’d been in harm’s way because of him, but he didn’t know what he could do about it.  He needed to talk to Eren and soon.

On the drive home he noticed that Jean and Marco seemed to be a little closer than usual.  That at least was a good thing.  He smiled to himself.

Eren was asleep, his head nuzzled into Levi’s neck.  He would surely have a nasty kink in his neck once they got home, but Levi liked feeling him there, so he didn’t push him away.  Maybe he felt the tiniest bit bad about that.  Maybe.

He wasn’t really sleepy yet, so he pulled out his phone and went through his e-mails.  Sadly his work didn’t care whether or not he took time for himself to actually have fun.  His clients were still demanding.  His eyes widened when he saw he had one missed text from Erwin.  He wondered what eyebrows wanted at this time of night, so he opened it and read it. 

Then he re-read it not believing what he was seeing.

 

**Eyebrows:**   We need to talk.  Soon. 

**Eyebrows:**   I know what Eren is.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again. I'm currently sick and it's taking so much longer than it normally would for me to type this.  
> It hurts to look at the computer screen. @.@  
> Hopefully it wasn't too terrible...


	22. Why yes, I am a doctor.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's doctor is a fruit loop. Eren is a little shit.  
> And then weird stuff happens.  
> Again...

* * *

 

“Wow!”

 

Levi hated going to the doctor for many reasons; but this right here was probably the winner, the single biggest thing that irritated him the most.  He hated having to strip down to his skivvies, wearing nothing but that oversized tissue paper they called a gown and looking utterly ridiculous while simultaneously being on display for anyone who happened to pass by to see.  He was currently sitting in the examination room of his doctor’s office, clutching said flimsy gown tightly, curling into himself as much as he could, trying to make sure it covered his body adequately. 

Not that it helped in this particular case.

“That is-  Hmm…”  Dr. Jinn, his primary care physician, seemed to be having a hard time with his words.  “That’s… that’s really…” the doctor trailed off, scrunching his face in disgust and shaking his head in disbelief at the sight before him before finally settling on what to say.  _“_ That is… _fucking disgusting!”_

Levi glared up at his doctor, who was not done making grossed out faces while studying his ankle as carefully as he could.  The dark haired physician’s gloved hands made as though to touch Levi’s ankle, but at the last minute he hesitated, his fingers twitching this way and that, trying to find a comfortable angle to come at him with.  But it was all futile, he couldn’t bring himself to actually touch the apparently ‘disgusting’ limb and pulled back.  His analytical gaze focused on Levi’s ankle then travelled up to his face and upon seeing the shorter man’s death glare quickly shifted away again.  He ended up staring solemnly at his glass container of tongue depressors instead, scratching his chin as though in deep contemplation.

Dr. Jinn was really young and had only joined this health group a couple of years ago.  He had yet to gain enough experience dealing with patients to have that practiced mask of professionalism.  He was blunt and he had a hard time keeping his thoughts to himself.  While that was off-putting to a lot of his newer patients, it wasn’t to Levi.  He had picked him as his primary care physician _especially_ because he was so open and honest.  He didn’t particularly like feeling that things were being kept from him.  He didn’t give a flying fuck if it was their job to do so nor did he care if it was for his own good.  He’d had enough of that bullshit logic now to last a lifetime.  He wanted _all_ the information, the _full_ story, nothing held back, nothing left out.  Then and only then could he make decisions based off actual information and not someone’s heavily biased, piss poor version of the truth. 

It made sense in his mind for various reasons.  The main one at the moment being that everyone around him that claimed to care for him was hell bent on keeping him in the dark ‘for his own good.’  Such utter crap!   It was frustrating as hell and dammit _someone_ in his life needed to be straight with him!  He sighed warily at the thought.  Maybe he couldn’t help who he fell in love with, but he could very damn well choose who his private doctor was. 

“Stop being a snot nosed brat!” he hissed.  “You’re supposed to make me feel better by saying shit like ‘we see this all the time;’ or ‘don’t worry, it’s normal’ or some other BS like that.”

Dr. Jinn raised a concerned eyebrow at him, confusion making his face look even younger if that was possible.

“But, I _haven’t_ seen this a lot!” he exclaimed, motioning wildly at Levi’s ankle.  “And excuse me, you’re calling _me_ a snot nosed brat?  I’m not the one having an early mid-life crisis.  Stage diving.  Oh.  My.  God!” 

“I was drunk,” Levi mumbled defensively. “And you’re supposed to have years of training, aren’t you? 

Dr. Jinn smiled good naturedly at his favorite patient.  “Come on Levi, give me a break.  Soothing Male Egos 101 isn’t actually a thing.”

Levi heaved a long suffering sigh.    

“The fuck do they teach you then?”

The doctor made a noise that sounded much like a raspberry and waved him off.

“It’s not even that bad.  You make it sound like you’re horrifically mangled, and it’s nowhere near anything like that, Levi,” he assured confidently. “I’ve seen my fair share of ugly bruises and broken bones.  What you have here _looks_ bad…” 

Well that was putting it mildly.  Hell yeah it looked bad!  He had an elephant foot for god’s sake!  A disgusting, ballooned, purple, black and red splotchy horror show of a foot and no one would convince him otherwise.

“And well…” he scratched his head before throwing his hands up helplessly.  “Eh, why sugarcoat it?  It looks downright fucking hideous and disgusting as all get out!”

_Fuck!  He knew it!_

“But in reality, it’s all show.  It’s nothing more than a sprained ankle and a fuck-ton of swelling.”

 “You sure?”  Levi asked skeptically. 

Dr. Jinn slid on his glasses, brought out the x-rays from Levi’s file and held them out so they could both look them over. 

“See?  Nothing broken.”

Levi scrunched his eyes to look at the x-ray.  He hadn’t thought to bring his glasses along so all he could see were fuzzy white marshmallow-like lumps against a dark grayish background.

“It hurts like hell,” he complained nonetheless.

“I can imagine,” the doctor nodded in wholehearted agreement.  He slid the x-rays back into Levi’s file and started flipping through the rest of the paperwork.  “I don’t know how you even managed to get here today in your crutches.  You don’t exactly live down the street…”

“What the fuck doc!  I got a ride.  And how do you even know where I live?”

Levi’s cheeks flushed slightly.  He was definitely not going to tell his doctor that his demon boyfriend had adamantly refused to let Levi step one foot outside their house while he was still injured.  He’d wanted to accompany him to the appointment and even be in the exam room.  He’d pouted intensely when Levi told him they wouldn’t let him in since he wasn’t family.  In the end Eren had settled for at least driving Levi to and from his appointment, though he was very openly bitter about it.  Levi had then given him a guilt trip bringing up the fact that no one had done the grocery shopping and not to mention the fact that he still needed those items from the Pharmacy they’d forgotten to pick up the day before.  That had Eren apologizing profusely, and he had vowed to get everything done as quickly as possible so Levi wouldn’t even feel his absence.

In actuality, Levi was sure Dr. Jinn would let Eren sit in for the visit if he asked, but… he didn’t want Eren to be there.  There were things Levi needed to ask his doctor that he didn’t want the demon to hear.

“Calm down, it just so happens that I live near you.  I recognize your address is all.  Now, quit trying to avoid the subject.  Am I going to have to have you admitted just so the nurses can keep an eye on you and make sure you heal properly?”

“I can handle the pain,” he muttered more to himself than to the doctor.

“Ok… But that’s not really going to help you,” Dr. Jinn tskd loudly.  “You may think you’re tough and that you can handle this.  It might even feel like you really can.  But in reality you’re just hurting your body, keeping it from healing.”

“So, what then?” Levi grumbled.

“So… we hock you up on happy pills and you stay off your foot.  Simple really!  I will write out a prescription for a pain killer and anti-inflammatory.”

“I already got plenty of those from the ER doctor,” Levi gave a long put upon sigh.  “Whatever, I’ll just sell the extras on eBay.  Then I’ll have more money for booze.”

Dr. Jinn raised an eyebrow at him.

“Please tell me I do _not_ have to remind you not to mix your meds with alcohol!”

Levi shrugged looking up at him innocently.  Dr. Jinn pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling in exasperation.  He then let out a calming breath before addressing his patient again.

“Have I ever mentioned that you are my most favorite… grouchiest… pain in the ass patient?”

“Pfft!  Not lately.  I was beginning to wonder if you’d found someone better.”

“Oho ho… no!” the doctor wagged his finger, “Not possible, my friend.  Not by a long shot.  You are one of a kind!”

Levi narrowed his eyes.

“I can hear the implied ‘thank god’ behind that, you ass!”

“Whaaaat?  Noooo…” the doctor declared with mock offense.  He shook his head slowly as he scribbled in Levi’s file.  Then he handed the shorter man his prescription before adding, “So then, unless there’s something else you want to discuss, you are outta here.”

Levi fisted his hands in his lap and let out a nervous breath.  Yes, there was something else, but he wasn’t really good at asking for help.  Luckily, Dr. Jinn was used to his little quirks.

“What is it?” the doctor asked him patiently.

“I just- I was wondering… if you had the um, results,” he stammered out.  “You know, from last time?”

“Ah yes!  Those things…” he opened Levi’s file again and started flipping through the pages.  Levi felt his stomach start to cramp a little with the tension he was feeling.  “Remember though, how I told you if they found something we would be calling you?”

“Yes, but you didn’t really give me a time frame-”

“Ah shit!  Oops, sorry about that…” he found the pages he was looking for and studied them for a moment.  “Well, let me just put you at ease.  They found nothing.  You are fit as a horse…” he shot a quick look at Levi’s foot again before adding on, “hoof included.”

Levi almost jumped out of his seat, ready to attack the poor doctor for that quip.

“Hey, hey now!” Dr. Jinn laughed heartily.  “What did I say about staying off that foot!”

Levi sank back down, crossed his arms angrily and snarled a little in frustration.  

“Look at me Levi.  Look at me,” Levi only rolled his eyes at him.  “Do you see the seriousness in these eyes?”  He pointed at himself.  “That’s right.  One phone call and you will be wearing that gown for a week!  You contemplate _that_ before you decide to cross me.  Boom!”

The shorter man had to cover his mouth to hide the laugh that managed to escape without his permission.  Stupid doctor.

“Excuse me doctor?” the nurse decided to just go ahead and barge in. 

“Yes?”

“Will Mr. Ackerman be getting an immunization today?”

“Ah!  Good question,” the doctor turned back to him.  “Levi, are you still getting your flu shots at your husband’s work?”

_Husband?  Fuck you, sir!_

“Not married,” he raised his hand to show the proof.  “And no, not this time.”

“I see,” he turned back to the nurse.  “Yes, he will be getting one today,” then he turned back to Levi.  “Unless you _don’t_ want one?”

“No, it’s fine.  I don’t want to catch whatever crap is out there this year.”

“Good then, I will leave you to the care of our humble nurse and I’ll see you next time.  Now…” oh god, he hated this part.  “Which flavor would you like?  Hmm?”

“How many times do we have to have this same argument, doc?  You’re not a fucking pediatrician, so what is this crap?”

The doctor held up a light green and a pale red lollipop for Levi to inspect. 

“I got sour apple and watermelon!  You said you liked these, right?”  Levi wanted to smack his ear to ear grin right off his stupid face.

He swiped both lollipops with a scowl. 

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Fuck you.”

 

\---

 

“Levi!  I told you to wait for me inside!” Eren scolded the minute the sliding doors opened revealing the shorter man about to hobble outside. 

“Bu there’s nothing to do in there,” Levi half mumbled, trying not to lose grip of the sour apple lollipop in his mouth. 

“Were you even waiting that long that you got bored so quickly?” Eren asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Yes,” the shorter man lied easily. 

He knew he was just being a brat because his injury was making him grouchier than usual, but he couldn’t help it.  Eren looked absolutely mortified which gave him a somewhat sick sense of satisfaction until the nurse came by and ruined everything.

“Ah, Mr. Ackerman!” the nurse panted as though she’d had to sprint to catch up to him.  “You walked away so quickly you almost left without your orders and prescription!  Here you go.”

Eren shot him a triumphant look before reaching to take the papers from the nurse.  “I’ll take those,” he said with a friendly smile.

The nurse giggled flirtatiously much to Levi’s outrage.  He noticed how her face flushed as she slowly drank in Eren’s tall and handsome physique.  The tramp was practically undressing him with her eyes!  How dare she ogle his boyfriend right in front of his face?!  He shot daggers at her when she asked him if it was all right to give the papers to Eren.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he bit out, giving her the stink eye.

She cleared her throat nervously and walked away as quickly as she could once Eren had the papers securely in his hands.

“Huh, I wonder what’s wrong with her?” Eren mused out loud. 

Levi shrugged feigning ignorance.

“Do you want me to have these filled before we go home?”

“Nah, we can do that another time,” Levi said hobbling slowly towards the car.  “It’s the same stuff they gave me yesterday anyway.  And besides, don’t you have groceries in the car?”

“Yeah, but nothing that will go bad…” he trailed off.

Levi looked over at Eren and realized he was reading over his care instructions.  He had to admit, Eren was really good at taking care of him.  He was patient, he was gentle and he was meticulous.  It was kind of surprising for a male, let alone a demon.  He tried not to think of what a baby Erwin had been in the past every time he caught so much as a sniffle.  It was nice to be on the receiving end of such attention.

“Excuse me brat!  That’s confidential,” he teased.

“Levi,” Eren chuckled.  “Why did your doctor have to bold ‘NO ALCOHOL’ on the instructions?”

“Tch!  Cause he’s a loser who doesn’t know how to have a good time,” Levi smirked.  “So he has to ruin it for everyone else, of course.”

“Of course!” Eren laughed with him. 

“That reminds, me,” Levi pulled out the watermelon lollipop and handed it to Eren.  “Here.  This one’s yours.”

“Mmm thank you.  Strawberry is my favorite!”

Levi didn’t feel the need to correct him.  He’d just let him figure it out on his own.  Everyone liked to get a surprise now and again, didn’t they?

“Ooh!  You got a flu shot?!”

“Well yeah.  Why wouldn’t I?” Levi looked over at him questioningly.  “Are you one of those guys who thinks it guarantees that I will get sick?  Because let me tell you, I haven’t gotten the flu a single time since I started getting those shots.”

“Nah, I don’t think that,” Eren waved his hand dismissively.  “That’s dumb.”

“What then?”

“Well.  I think the secondary function of the shot helping you fight off the current flu strain is just there as a distraction.  The main function of the shot is to test out the general population’s reaction to secret government biomedical research.  You know, to gather data.”

“What?”  Levi felt his head begin to ache already.  “That’s stupid.  They already have volunteers for that.  Voluntary clinical trials or whatever.  You know, people get paid to volunteer for that shit.  Right?”

“True.   But that is for pharmaceutical companies, not the government!  And who’s to say their research is necessarily humanitarian in nature?  If that was the case there wouldn’t be a need to be so secretive about it, would there?  Also, no one’s going to volunteer for something like that, not in their right mind anyway.  And there are only so many soldiers and convicts they can use as guinea pigs.  Besides, they need to test it on average dudes, that way they can get a better range of data.” 

“Average dudes?  Like me?”

“I guess.  I mean, don’t you find it even a little coincidental that the flu sometimes gets an overwhelming amount of attention, they even go so far as to call it a pandemic and yet some years it doesn’t get any media coverage whatsoever?  If they need a really large pool of test subjects, they have to hype it up right?  Make people panic and they flock to get the shot, bingo! you got more participants than you needed.  It’s marketing genius really.  Oh, and then what about those epidemics that are later discovered to be man-made?  How do they even justify those?  They don’t!  Those get swept under the rug.  Sneaky bastards.”

Levi chuckled.  They were at the car now. 

“Also, I’m not saying you should _stop_ getting them, but quite frankly, _I’ve_ never had a flu shot in my life and I’ve never had the flu, so…”

He waited until Eren opened his door and helped him inside before commenting.

 “Just out of curiosity, pinhead.  In the history of… oh I don’t know- _ever_ :  how many demons do you know who’ve gotten the flu?”

“Demons?  Oh!  Um…”  Eren scratched his head thinking it over for a moment before bursting out laughing.  “None…  Ha ha!  Sorry, I guess I keep forgetting.”

Levi shook his head marveling at the boy beside him. 

How does one forget something like that?

 

\---

 

It took about two weeks for the swelling on Levi’s ankle to calm down.  It was still a little purplish and yellow from leftover bruise marks, but nothing compared to what it had been.  It was nice to be able to wear a normal sock on it again.   He still couldn’t wear regular shoes though, so he was wearing a sock and a slip on sandal.  That’s right, like a douche.

He was finally able to drive again, so he had decided it was time to make good on some promises he’d made to himself before his little accident. 

His window was down, despite the darkening sky his sunglasses were on and the wind was blowing gently in his hair.  He was a man on a mission and he’d made sure to dress in appropriately dark clothing to help him blend in with the night.  Also, that made him look more intimidating and he liked to see his victims squirm.  Yes, he would enjoy beating the ever loving fuck out of this shit head for making his friend Petra cry for days on end.  The piece of shit!  He was lucky she’d ever even laid eyes on him and Levi was going to drive that point home.  Painfully.

Did Eren know about this?  Of course not.  His boyfriend would never let him go out and do something like this on his own.  Eren would insist on coming along and undoubtedly beat Auruo within an inch of his life if he asked him to, but that’s not what he wanted.  He wanted to do this himself and having someone else do it for him was just not his style, nor would it bring him the satisfaction he craved.  No, Eren was over at Ymir’s researching the best spell to restore Sawney to his former human male glory.

Levi hadn’t even realized there were different ways to about stuff like that.  He’d always assumed there was one universal magic book and everyone adhered to the same thing.  Boy had he regretted opening his big mouth to Ymir.  The witch had sucked in an offended breath and then gave him such a lengthy detailed lecture that his mind smoked with information overload.  It was a sermon befitting Hanji, the crazy woman would probably hug Ymir until she turned blue in the face all the while singing her praises.

And that was another thing, he still hadn’t spoken to Hanji properly yet.  He hadn’t been able to look into Mike’s disappearance yet.  He’d been putting off talking to Erwin as well due to his injury.  There were just too many things piling up, so that morning when he’d woken up he’d firmly decided: today would be the day he started ticking items off his to-do list.  

He mentally checked off his first item as he pulled up alongside Auruo’s house, killing his lights before parking a few houses down.  He slipped on some leather gloves before exiting his car and strutted menacingly to the man’s front door.

Uh.  Hmm…

There was a lot of mail at Auruo’s door.  It looked like his mailbox was so full the mailman had started piling it against his door instead.  Auruo’s car was in his driveway covered in dust as though he hadn’t driven it in a while.  Auruo’s car was always immaculate, it was one of the few things Levi had approved of about him.  He looked through some of the windows to see if there was any sign of him inside, but it was all dark. 

Ok.  This was not how things were supposed to go.

Levi sat on the edge of Auruo’s porch, waiting for the police.  He’d called and reported the suspicious circumstances.  They of course wanted to question him.  He’d changed into a less intimidating forest green cardigan, ditched the gloves and sunglasses and waited.

 

\---

 

Hazy light tangerine sky, barely alive plants and this fountain again.

He was here again. 

But why?

Panic clouded Levi’s thoughts almost immediately as he remembered that the last time he’d dreamt of this place it was because something had happened to Eren.  If that was the case, he wanted to be awake.  Immediately.  There was nothing he could do while asleep, awake at least he could try to find help.

He’d never tried to actively wake himself out of dream before, so he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Ouch!” he yelped, realized pinching himself was only an old wife’s tale.  Dammit.

“What are you doing?” came a low soft voice behind him.

Levi jumped upon hearing it.  He hadn’t expected anyone to actually be there with him.  He turned around and located the source right away; it was a boy sitting at the edge of the fountain.  He was wearing a dark gray hoodie and dark blue skinny jeans.  Last time Levi had been here alone.  Last time he hadn’t been able to speak or control his actions either.  This was definitely different and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

“Trying to wake up,” he said matter of factly.  His eyes widened when he took in the face of the familiar boy who was eyeing him with intense curiosity.  “Eren?”

Eren blinked, giving Levi a confused look.

“Eren, is something wrong?  You’re not usually in dreams with me, and after last time, well… I’m not gonna lie.  I’m nervous as hell.”

“Last time?” he asked slowly, tilting his head.  “No, um… there’s nothing wrong.”  His face slowly twisted into a frown.  “I didn’t mean to make you worry.  I’m really sorry.”  He sounded so guilty for some reason.

Levi scratched his head.

“No, don’t worry.  I guess I’m just a little confused as to why I’m back here.  Do you know where we are?  What is this place?”

Eren took in the scenery before him slowly before returning his gaze to Levi.

“I’ve never been here before,” he said quietly.

Levi huffed impatiently.  “Do you know why we’re here then?”

Eren’s gaze shifted to the ground and Levi could swear he saw the boy’s cheeks tint slightly.  The demon shook his head slowly.  Levi frowned.  Something was off about the kid in this dream, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.  Then again, this Eren was a product of his own weird ass subconscious, so he couldn’t exactly force him to act correctly.  If only he had enough control of his dreams to be able to conjure up a nice cold drink.  He could really use one right now.

Levi was so busy stewing in his frustration that he almost didn’t see when Eren got up and started to walk away.

“Oi!  Where are you going?”

Eren came to an abrupt half as though Levi’s question had startled him. 

“I um- I just wanted… to look around?”

Levi rolled his eyes.  Well, some things never changed.  Damn that kicked puppy look!  Damn brat!

Hmm.  If Eren was here, then maybe there was no reason for him to worry.  Besides, he didn’t feel the same sense of helplessness he did the other time.

“All right,” Levi said with resignation.

Eren looked at him with utter confusion.  “What?”

“I’ll come with you, shitty brat.  Let’s look around.”

Eren smiled shyly.  “Oh!  Ok, but…”

The kid was eyeing him again as though he were a mixture of scared out of his mind and at the same time in awe of Levi.  

What a weird kid, Levi thought to himself.

“But what?  Spit it out already!”

Eren stared down at his feet, shuffling them nervously. 

“My name’s not Eren… so you shouldn’t call me that.”

Levi was taken aback.  His subconscious sure was a weird ass fucker.  Whatever.  He gave up.

“I’m sorry… I guess I thought you were someone else.”

The boy who was apparently _not_ Eren, smiled at him, seeming to be a little more at ease.

“It’s fine,” he said simply before turning and heading towards the house again.

Levi followed, keeping pace alongside the taller boy.

“So…” he asked cautiously.  “What _is_ your name then?”

This question made the boy uncomfortable again.  Levi could tell by the way he worried his lower lip and hunched his shoulders a little.  He stopped and turned to look at Levi with those huge saucer eyes filled with worry.

“I… I don’t know.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I've been watching anime as a way to ease my stress. Ha ha ha, right. I love dark creepy anime like Tokyo Ghoul. It makes me smile while I cringe. 
> 
> Just thought I'd share.
> 
> U.U


	23. Saying Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi confronts Erwin to see what exactly his ex-boyfriend claims to know.

* * *

 

Love.

What the fuck was love? 

Every time Levi thought he’d figured it out, every time he got comfortable with the idea of it, it changed… it became something else entirely, something elusive, unrecognizable.  It was like he was being handed a new puzzle to figure out again and again, each time more complex than the last, with no instructions whatsoever.  In less than a year he’d gone from feeling complacent in his relationship with Erwin- to lost and alone- to confused with his feelings for Eren.  When he’d finally thought he’d figured it out, it just kept getting more and more complicated.  There was always something new being thrown at him, something new testing out his resolve. 

It shouldn’t be this complicated, his brain kept telling him.

It’s not, his heart would protest. 

How could he argue?  There was no argument to be made, they were both correct. 

When he and Eren were alone, everything was perfect.  Eren was his perfect complement and they fit into each other’s lives perfectly.  Levi’s natural pessimism and darkness were balanced out by Eren’s sunny disposition and joie de vivre.  Sure, they had their minor skirmishes, what couple didn’t?  At the end of the day, when they made up and held each other close he’d look into his demon’s eyes and wonder how he’d ever gotten so lucky to have him in his life.  He loved everything about him; the way he smiled, the sound of his laughter, the special looks reserved only for him.  He loved the smell of his body, the taste and feel of his overly warm skin- Eren was intoxicating.

They were made for each other.  God, he felt corny for even thinking so.

Living with Eren in such an easy, peaceful manner almost allowed him forget- if only for a moment- that he was indeed other-worldly; that he was a demon- evil by nature- and that everything could come crashing down around them in an instant. 

Almost. 

But he could never forget. 

And how could he, with all the constant reminders surrounding them?

 

\---

 

“Where the fuck are you getting this bullshit information from?!”  Levi demanded to know from the man sitting next to him.

It was impossible for him to know.  It _should_ have been impossible, there was just no way.    

Erwin’s mouth was pressed into a firm line, his deep blue eyes were filled with determination.  The tall blonde man was used to getting what he wanted, that’s just how things were.  His demeanor told Levi today would be no different.

 “Levi,” Erwin heaved an exhausted breath.  He could tell the behemoth wanted to yell, maybe even wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.  Instead, he was whispering harshly, sitting as close as possible on his stool at Garrison’s Pub so that no one could overhear them, his strangled voice hitting notes Levi had never heard out of his mouth before.  “You _know_ me.  I wouldn’t even bring it up if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.  I’m just worried about you.  I mean…” he paused to run his trembling fingers through his noticeably less than pristine hair.  When was the last time he’d washed it?  Gross!  Erwin’s hair was always impeccable.  Always.  “For fuck’s sake!  Do you even realize how goddamn _dangerous_ this is?”

Well shit!  Erwin was cursing at him.  That was new.  It would have been kind of hilarious in a different situation, a different time maybe, but right now it was anything but.  How could he know?  How the FUCK could he _know_?! 

Levi’s mind raced for an answer, but there was just none forthcoming.  The only person he could have found out from was Hanji, but she was avoiding all their friends like the plague.  Even if he had run into her somehow, she wouldn’t have just outright told him.  And she definitely would have let him know if she’d spoken to Erwin, she wouldn’t keep something of this magnitude from him, he was sure of it.

His instincts were to protect the man he loved, first and foremost.  In reality, he didn’t care about keeping Erwin’s trust, they were barely on speaking terms and that was only because his evil ex insisted on saving what was left of their so called friendship. 

“No, I don’t,” Levi lied easily.  “I’m honestly really confused as to why you’d say something like that.  I mean, I get it, you don’t like him.  But a demon?  What the fuck?”

“I know how it sounds Levi, ok?  I know!” he grumbled out, rubbing his presumably throbbing temple while staring down at him with wild eyes.  “But, you have to believe me.  Eren _is_ a demon!”

Levi struggled not to roll his eyes.  Erwin, with his wrinkled shirt and five o’clock shadow looked more like a potential mental patient than his normal cool collected self.  He was fidgeting nervously, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping and overall gave off the impression of someone who’s sanity was barely hanging by a thread.

“And you obviously have proof of this, right?” he challenged, which made Erwin squirm visibly in his seat.

“Well…”

“Let me see it,” Levi calmly requested.

“Levi,” Erwin struggled to put whatever he was thinking into words.  “It’s… not something I can show to you.”

“So, what then… rumors?  Did you hear it around the fucking water cooler at work, Erwin?”

 “Dammit, Levi!  I’m not making this up!  You can’t just blow this off.  Who knows what his evil intentions are?  Who knows what kind of fucked up shit is on his agenda?  And where does that leave you?  I can’t just sit back and let him do… _god knows_ what?  I can’t!  We have to get rid of him!”

Levi found himself suddenly feeling very uneasy.  What exactly did Mr. Spoiled rich boy know about getting rid of demons?

“Okay…” he rested his cheek on his hand nonchalantly.  “Assuming you are correct, exactly how would we go about getting rid of him?  Do we need an exorcism?  Do we call in a priest?  What?”

The taller man scoffed.  “Ok.  Now I _know_ you’re not taking me seriously.  If all you’re going to do is ridicule-”

“No no, I’m just giving you the benefit of the doubt.  Well, _trying_ to anyway.  If what you’re saying is true- well, what do you propose we do?  How would we go about ‘getting rid of’ Eren?”

Erwin looked him dead in the eyes, studying him for reasons known only to himself before earnestly declaring, “I’ll find a way.”  

That steeled look in his eyes, the way he said this so confidently made Levi’s skin crawl.  He was hiding something.  It was obvious by the way he was dodging the question of proof.  He couldn’t just pull something like this out of his ass, especially since his accusation was dead on.  That son of a bitch knew more than he was letting on and he had the nerve to hide it!  But where did he get the information?  How did he even find out?

As much as Levi would love to shrug it off and say ‘yeah, good luck with that’ he knew better than to underestimate Erwin; his ex-boyfriend was nothing if not resourceful.  If he thought Eren was a dangerous demon he would go through hell and back to find out everything he needed to know about him.  If his mind was set on getting rid of Eren, then that is exactly what he would do.  Levi’s head felt like it was going to burst any minute from the pressure.  He couldn’t afford to have him snooping around.  Erwin wouldn’t understand that Eren was different than the other demons, that he wasn’t a threat.  Bottom line, there was no way he wanted Erwin anywhere near Eren.

“Look, Erwin,” he said seriously.  “I’m in love with Eren, ok?  I don’t know what you _think_ you know about him, but you need to back the fuck off.”  Erwin’s face twisted in anger at Levi’s words.  “I realize you think you’re looking out for me… but I don’t need you to do that.  If you can’t respect that, then I don’t know that we can be friends.”

Erwin frowned down at his drink, one hand tangled up in his hair, a visible manifestation of his obvious frustration, the other fisted on his lap.  He visibly struggled to maintain his composure as he chewed over the raven’s words. 

“So,” he finally uttered with a humorless smile.  “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah,” Levi answered almost apologetically. 

Yes, he had it bad for Eren.  Why hide it?  It would be easier for the blonde to move on if he came to terms with it sooner rather than later.  And if it helped keep him away from Eren, that was even better.

“So… I guess you don’t care that ever since your boyfriend showed up there have been strange disappearances all over the city?” he muttered darkly.

Disappearances?  Shit.

“What?” Levi asked weakly.

Erwin reached into his suitcase and pulled out a bunch of newspaper clippings, handing them over to Levi for inspection.  He wished he could just walk away, tell Erwin he was a prick for even bringing it up and that it had nothing to do with him.  But he couldn’t.  He slowly took the clippings from Erwin’s hand, the thin papers felt like betrayal against his cold pale skin.  Mike was missing.  Auruo was missing.  Were they among these stories in his hand right now?  Was Eren somehow involved?  Did Erwin already know? 

“Don’t get me wrong,” Erwin continued, staring down at Levi with something resembling concern mixed with annoyance.  “What’s happening to these people is unfortunate, but I don’t know them.  I know _you…_ and I care about _your_ well-being first and foremost.  Yes, it stands to reason that it could be a coincidence.  Hell, it might not even have anything to do with Eren at all.  But if there’s a chance he’s responsible, or somehow involved- even a small chance… I can’t just let that go.  Do you understand?”

So no, Erwin didn’t know about Mike and Auruo.  And no, he obviously didn’t have proof of Eren’s alleged involvement.  Somehow the fact that Eren was a demon automatically made him guilty of all these people’s disappearances in Erwin’s eyes.  (A number of those disappeared had been found later gruesomely murdered he noted with great consternation as he flipped through the articles.)  That was a bit of a wild assumption, you can’t just blame everything that went wrong in the city on a guy you don’t like.  Granted if you thought he was a demon here to do Satan’s bidding, then you might be more than a little biased.  Assuming Erwin did in fact know Eren was a demon, he obviously didn’t know that he wasn’t the only one in the city.  Until he’d gotten involved with Eren, Levi himself had never noticed them.  They didn’t exactly advertise their presence.  And from what he’d seen, they didn’t just go picking off people randomly either. 

“Erwin, I want to make it clear,” he said firmly.  “I do not believe Eren has any involvement in this.  Frankly, your being convinced he’s a demon sounds a little… well crazy.  You know this is exactly the kind of shit Hanji was locked up for.”

Erwin opened his mouth to protest, but Levi raised a finger motioning for him to keep quiet.

“These clippings, though, they do concern me.  Erwin…” he took a deep breath, calming his nerves before asking the question that had been plaguing him for a while now.  “When was the last time you saw Mike or Auruo?  Do you know where they are?”

Erwin’s eyes widened in obvious surprise. 

“W-What?!  No… no, I haven’t seen Mike since we broke up!  I- I hadn’t exactly been keeping in touch…” he trailed off.

“He sent me a text a while back, wanting to talk.  But when I went to his apartment, his roommates told me he’d disappeared.  He left all his stuff behind, just… _vanished_ without a word.”

Erwin sucked in a breath upon hearing this bit of news.

“Auruo too?” he asked quietly.

“Auruo broke up with Petra.  You did know about that, right?”

“Yeah, she told me…”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly happy about that, you know me.  I paid him a little visit the other day.  He wasn’t there.  He’s also missing.”

If Erwin hadn’t been wound up enough before, now he was ready to snap for sure. 

“What the hell, Levi?!  What the fucking hell?  Have you told anyone else about this?”

“Well, the police obviously,” Levi shrugged. 

“Oh, ok.  So you reported it to the police at least.”

“Of course I did!  What are you trying to say?”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me sooner?”

Levi was ready to blow up in his face when Erwin cut him off, apologizing quickly.

“No, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  Of course telling the police was the right thing to do.  It’s not exactly like we’re all best friends anymore, are we?”

“No, we’re not,” Levi agreed bitterly.

Erwin sighed heavily. 

“Levi, what’s going to happen to us?  You, me, Hanji, Petra.  I feel like we’ve been wasting our lives these past several years.  Having petty arguments.  Doing stupid things.  Mostly me, I’m ashamed to say…”

“I don’t know Erwin.  We just have to move on, I guess.”

“Yeah… you’re right.  Of course you’re right.  I’m sorry Levi.  I’m sorry…”  


\---

 

“Levi, aren’t you going to eat the rest of your dinner?” Eren asked quietly from across the dining table, his face was neutral, but he couldn’t hide the concern in his voice.

“My stomach is a bit queasy.  I think I ate something that didn’t agree with me.”

Levi waited for Eren to bring up how most everything he ate was apparently not agreeing with him nowadays.  He had an excuse ready just in case.  Too much work.  Worried about his friends.  Maybe the flu shot was finally getting him sick.  He couldn’t keep straight which of these he’d used too often already.  Surely his boyfriend was at least a little suspicious.

“Well, you kind of seem to be having a hard time eating lately.  Look at how thin you are now, even your clothes are starting to look big on you.”

The shorter man was just about to utter the first syllables of his chosen excuse when Eren cut him off.

“Well… I guess we’ll just have to find food that doesn’t mess you up until you feel better.  Maybe broth and vegetables?  How does that sound?”

Levi exhaled slowly, he smiled in relief feeling all the pent up worrying he’d been doing wash away with Eren’s soothing tone.  His boyfriend’s care and concern always made him feel a special kind of warmth in his inner core. 

“Maybe some steamed rice?” Levi suggested.

“Sure! “ Eren said with an attempt at cheerfulness.  “Whatever you think will help.”

Though Eren always wore a smile around him, Levi knew that lately it was more of an act than genuine happiness.  He could see the worry lurking in those beautiful green orbs whenever Eren didn’t think Levi was looking.  His smiles didn’t quite reach his eyes anymore.  He felt powerless to change things, because what could he even say?  He wasn’t well, he knew he wasn’t.  But according to the doctors, according to all the tests they ran, he was the very picture of health.  It didn’t make sense.

It’s not like he couldn’t keep food down, he could definitely eat.  He was hungry, _really_ hungry- almost near ravenous- all the time!  But everything he ate made him regret having put anything in his mouth later.  It felt like he’d eaten tiny razor blades and he was being cut open from the inside out.  He would be perfectly fine and then out of nowhere he’d double over in pain, almost passing out from the intensity.  It’d gotten to the point where he was afraid to eat anything at all.  Of course Eren noticed.  Of course Eren worried himself over it, but he knew better than to make a fuss.  Levi was an ornery son of a bitch and he knew it.  He was never more thankful that he had someone who understood him.

 

\---

 

After dinner, Eren ordered Levi to go lie down and get some rest while he cleaned up.  Levi’d had a really long day, so he was more than happy to comply. 

He was just done washing up when he heard a voice suddenly beside him in the hallway.

“Aren’t you going to tell him?”

Levi jumped upon hearing Bertholdt so unexpectedly.  He was leaning against the hallway wall, much the same as he’d done at the concert. 

“What the hell?  Eren can sense you’re here, can’t he?”

The taller demon shrugged indifferently. 

“Eventually, I suppose he would notice.  But it’s not like I’m going to stand around here waiting for him.”

Levi was confused by his own reaction to the intruding demon.  Shouldn’t he feel uneasy, a little more hostile towards the demon invading his home, maybe even a little afraid?  He found it more than a little weird that he didn’t.  Maybe it was because Bertholdt hadn’t done anything to show ill intentions up to this point.  He seemed to be more interested in observing Levi than anything else. 

“I don’t get it,” Levi huffed.

“Don’t get what?”

“How come you can tell, but he can’t?”

“People see what they want to see,” he said matter-of-factly.  “It’s no different for us.”

“Well, as long as you’re here- in my home- uninvited, let me ask you something.”

Bertholdt smirked at the shorter man, as if he found his statement highly amusing.

“Of course.”

“It seems there have been a lot of mysterious disappearances in this town lately.  You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Bertholdt covered his mouth to stifle his amused laughter. 

“Ah… the work of demons.  _Obviously_.”

Levi grumbled in frustration. 

“If I thought it was you guys, I wouldn’t have asked.  All right, dumbass?  So, do you know anything or not?”

“Fine.  It’s the usual suspects, Levi.  Criminals, accidents… people losing their sanity.  The presence of demons doesn’t change a town’s statistics, you know.  I don’t know how much you know about us, but we don’t normally live our lives waiting for the moment when we can finally fulfill our dreams of snatching one of your kind.  We don’t actively choose to do that, we have no reason to.  We mostly have bigger things to worry about in our own dimension, though we do get curious and like to observe the happenings of this side from time to time.  When we do get involved with humans, it’s usually only because one of _your_ kind decides to delve into the dark arts and forces us to do their dirty work.”

Well that was no help.  So, he’d been right.  Erwin just pulled up all that info out of his ass hoping to sway Levi in his favor and pit him against Eren.  Jerk.

“Levi?”

Levi didn’t realize he’d spaced out until Bertholdt called his name.  He looked up at the demon to see him staring down at him, his expression filled with concern.  Great, demons were concerned about him.  What the fuck was wrong with his life?

“Levi!” he suddenly heard Eren’s anguished voice somewhere beside him.

That was the last thing he remembered hearing besides his own shallow breathing echoing in his ears before everything went white.

 

\---

 

“Are you feeling ok?”

Levi looked up to see the stupid tangerine sky again and _not_ Eren eyeing him with concern.  The kid was standing awkwardly beside him.  Levi was huddled into a little ball beside the fountain.  He felt unbearably hot, his face was covered in sweat, but his teeth had been chattering as if he’d been freezing.  Overall he just felt royally fucked up.

“I’ve felt better,” Levi grunted.  He uncurled his body and sat down for a while gathering his bearings.

“Do you… do you need anything?  Maybe some water?” the kid asked.  “You don’t look very good.”

Levi used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his brow.  Gross!  But this was a dream, it wasn’t real.  He tried to will himself clean.  His clammy skin let him know it wasn’t working.  Ugh.

“I feel like shit.  I _was_ feeling like shit, next thing I know I end up here again.  Wherever the fuck this place is.”

“Oh, you don’t like it here?  I didn’t know…”

“Well, what are you gonna do?  It’s not like I can control it.”

“Do you think it would help you to lie down?  But, you know.  Not on the floor.  Not on the dirt.  I’m sure there’s a bed inside the house-”

“No,” Levi huffed.  “I don’t want anything.  I just… I just don’t want to be here.”

“Oh, I see.  I um… I don’t know how to help you.  I’m sorry…” _not_ Eren said softly, his voice laced with guilt.

Levi snapped.  He glared up angrily at the kid.

“Sorry?  Why is everybody so fucking sorry all of a sudden?  What the hell is everyone doing that they’re so goddamn sorry all the time now!  What fucking good does it do to be sorry?  Tell me, what good is it?!”

He immediately regretted his angry outburst when he saw _not_ Eren visibly retreat into himself.  The kid turned away, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and quickly walked away.

“Shit!”

Levi almost had to run to catch up to him.  When he did, the boy wouldn’t look at him, he just kept walking as if Levi wasn’t there.

“Hey!” Levi kept trying to get his attention, but the boy pretended not to hear him and kept on walking.

Out of frustration, Levi grabbed his arm through his hoodie and turned him around so he could apologize to him face to face.  When he finally got a look at the boy he was shocked to see his eyes were wet with tears. 

The boy jerked his arm out of Levi’s grasp, turned and ran into the hedge maze leaving Levi to stare helplessly after him.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So nobody told me last chapter that I messed up and had Dr. Jinn be dark haired when he's blonde I guess?   
> Oops.
> 
> Heeeeeey, remember when this was all cute and stuff? I remember.   
> Good times, good times...


	24. Party Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Normal" is just not a word that will describe Levi's life.   
> This certainly isn't what he was expecting to wake up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter seemed to be somewhat dark and depressing, so I tried to mix it up this time.   
> They are college kids after all...

* * *

 

The first thing he became aware of was the murmuring of voices. 

They sounded familiar, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.  His thoughts were fuzzy; they were swimming lazily in the primordial mush that was currently his brain.  Was he still dreaming?  He wasn’t really sure, but he wouldn’t be at all surprised at this point if the answer was yes.  The second thing he became aware of was that he was in his own bed, tangled in his sheets and drenched in sweat.  Fucking great, he thought groaning inwardly.  Ugh!  Water… body wash… fuck, he’d kill for a shower right now!  He slowly stretched his arms out bringing them above his head, reaching out as far as he could until he shuddered with happiness.  Mm, that felt so good.  He twisted his torso and stretched his feet much the same way, pointing his toes.  Yep, he was not going to be able to bathe anytime soon.  If he tried to get up now, he’d surely trip himself up on these sheets and die a gruesome death.  Oh well, he sighed, he probably didn’t have the strength to do so anyway. 

Slowly as his senses became more focused, he was better able to associate each voice with its owner.  To be honest, he’d assumed he’d wake up to find Eren by his side.  Only Eren.  He kind of was hoping that all the other murmurs he heard were fabrications of his half asleep subconscious- that he was hearing things. 

Very cautiously, he opened his eyes and slowly scanned the room, taking in the scene before him.  He shut them immediately mentally cursing when his suspicions were confirmed.   Well, at least he wasn’t losing his mind.  They were here, each voice’s owner.  But why?  And more importantly, who had allowed this?  Did no one respect the privacy and sanctity of a man’s home anymore? 

“I think I saw him open his eyes,” he heard Bertholdt mutter uncomfortably. 

“Don’t try to change the subject, hot stuff!” Hanji purred.  “I have ways of finding things out if you don’t wanna play niiiice!”

Levi almost laughed upon hearing the demon’s own words used against him by his bespectacled best friend.  Oh god, what was Hanji doing to that poor demon?  He felt the bed dip and a warm hand was rested gently against his forehead.

“Levi?”

Eren. 

Levi opened his eyes to confirm to his boyfriend that he was indeed conscious now.  Eren smiled down at him warmly, his eyes filled with emotion and his face exuding relief.

“How do you feel?” he asked quietly, his voice full of concern. 

He felt much better now that he could see Eren was by his side, he wanted to say.  But before he could answer, Hanji suddenly popped up out of nowhere shoving Eren out of the way and gawking at Levi with wide eyes through her coke bottle glasses like the lunatic she was. 

“Oh my god!  Levi!  You _are_ awake!” Levi scrunched his eyes shut tight and pulled the sheets over his head in an effort to block her out physically and mentally.  There was a time and a place for everything, and Hanji’s screeching was not exactly soothing to his splitting head at the moment.  Plus she’d pushed Eren, the only person he did want to see, out of view.  “Aw, come on Levi!  We’re worried about you.  Don’t you care that your friends worry?  Won’t you let me exper- er, uh- give you a check up?”

“Fuck off…” he mumbled. 

“Well, you certainly _sound_ like your normal self.  But come on, Eren’s worried about you!  Hell, even Bertholdt’s worried about you and I don’t even know who the heck he is!  I didn’t know you were making new friends, Levi.  You’re such a social butterfly now!”

“Don’t look at _me_ ,” he suddenly heard Ymir chime in.  “I had no hand in this.”

“Levi!  Did you know that he’s also a demon?!” Hanji squealed.

“Are you sure it’s ok for her to be here?” he heard Bertholdt ask Ymir quietly in the background.  She snorted as a response.  Eren coughed to stifle a laugh.  Hanji either didn’t hear, or chose to ignore them.

“Who am I kidding, of course you had to know,” she wailed dramatically.  “Leviiii!!!  How could you?!  How could you keep this from me?  You _know_ what these kinds of things mean to me!”

“Hanji,” he said pulling back the sheets only so he could glare up at her.  “I do need to speak to you… but not right this second.  Right now, can you just shut… the fuck… up!  My damn head is killing me…”

“I see…” she said leaning into him, her voice lowering to a whisper.  “I don’t understand it, though.  Eld assured me you were fine.  So how could something like this happen?  He’s not like those other glorified nurses, Levi; he actually knows what he’s doing.  He really knows his stuff!  He’s meticulous, he’s very very thorough.  It doesn’t make any sense!”

It was pretty damn creepy for her _not_ to be loud, he decided now that he was hearing her hushed voice.  It was like when a child whispered in a horror movie; it just wasn’t right, and you knew terrible shit was about to go down. 

Also, it kept slipping his mind that she and Dr. Jinn were old friends.  He almost never saw them together, so it was easy to forget. 

“And just _why_ is my private physician telling you my personal business?” he frowned.

“Oh come on,” she rolled her eyes.  “It’s not like he gave me any details-”

“Cause he can’t!”

“Yeah, yeah.  Patient confidentiality, blah blah blah,” she waved her hand dismissively as she walked away.  “Anyway… I’ll wait for you in the living room!” she yelled over her shoulder.

She almost bumped into Krista, who was entering at that same moment with what smelled like a cup of ginger tea.  The petite blonde maneuvered herself awkwardly around the messy-haired brunette; juggling the contents of the cup so perfectly not a single drop of tea was spilled.  Levi released a tense breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.  Thank god, his carpet was safe and clean.

“Oops!  Sorry, Hanji…” Krista apologized even though she wasn’t the one who wasn’t watching where they were going.

“S’all right,” Hanji replied obliviously before exiting the room.

Eren took the tea from Krista thanking her quietly.

“Do you guys mind giving me a moment alone with him?” he asked of everyone remaining in the room. 

“Of course,” they said almost in unison before they slowly exited to join Hanji in the living room.

Once they were alone, Eren carefully crawled onto the bed beside Levi.  He cupped his boyfriend’s cheek and looked him tenderly in the eyes.

“Levi,” he spoke softly as though he were afraid to raise his voice.  “What happened back there?”

Levi grimaced.  He didn’t like the way Eren was staring at him looking so lost and helpless.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.  “Dr. Jinn didn’t find anything wrong with me.  I should be perfectly healthy.”

Eren frowned, clearly not liking this answer.  “And you’ve been this way for a while, haven’t you?  It’s not like the doctor performed a routine check-up, did he?”

Guilt.  Dammit, he felt guilty.  He’d been keeping things from Eren and even though the demon wasn’t outright accusing him of lying, that’s what it felt like.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he muttered defensively, averting his gaze.  He didn’t want Eren to see the shame he felt. 

To his surprise, Eren gently lifted his chin and kissed him softly.

“Levi, I know how strong, self sufficient and independent you are.  I know.  I also know how very stubborn you are, how very prideful you are, which is why I’m not really surprised about this.  But you have to realize that you’re not alone.  I’m here with you Levi, and you can’t hide these things from me.  I love you!  So much so, it’s impossible for me _not_ to notice every single little detail about you.  Of course I know you haven’t been well.  I’ve been waiting patiently until you were ready to tell me.”

He felt the sting of tears threatening his eyes.  How did this damned brat always know exactly what to say?

Eren gave a small reassuring smile at Levi’s obvious distress.  He slowly kissed each of his eyes in an effort to comfort the shorter male.  “You’re not alone Levi.  You don’t have to keep these things bottled up.  I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.  Ok?  We’ll figure this out.  We’ll find answers together.  I’m here for you.”

Levi wrapped his arms around Eren’s neck, bringing him down into a tight embrace.

“Shitty brat.  Why are you so perfect?”

Eren chuckled into Levi’s hair.  “I’m not.  But if you think so, then I must be doing _something_ right.”

“Arrogant,” Levi whispered into his shoulder teasingly.

Eren pulled him into a sitting position and held him closely, cradling him in his arms until he felt calm enough to face the others.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get through this together,” he kept repeating softly. 

Levi never wanted to believe in something so much before in his life.  He wasn’t used to feeling so helpless.  It was pretty humiliating and he didn’t know how to deal with it.  And so he held onto Eren with all his strength.

 

\---

 

“I still don’t understand why _you’re_ here, Bertholdt?” Eren asked the demon bluntly.

Bertholdt managed to look offended despite the mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

“Why, for science of course,” he said matter-of-factly with a flip of his hand.

Levi was sure he saw Hanji’s glasses gleam without her even moving a muscle.  Creepy shitty four eyes!

“Is she really that fascinated over a mere human?” Ymir asked skeptically.

He scoffed.  “You really have to ask, witch?  Everyone is.  And so are you, aren’t you?”

Ymir narrowed her eyes, choosing to glower at the demon’s knowing look instead of answering the question. 

“And what, she’s ok with you hanging out with him instead of hauling his ass to the other side?”

“Oh, but Reiner and I are scouring far and wide, searching tirelessly day and night for the little man.  Tirelessly, mind you.  He must be protected by magic if we haven’t been able to find him thus far,” he shrugged helplessly.  “Of course if you prefer I report the truth, little witch…”

“Bite me!” she spat out which only made the tall demon laugh.

“I’m also confused, Bertholdt.  Why are you letting Levi run around free?” Eren challenged.  “Not that I’m complaining, I just like to know where we stand.”

“I wish to satiate my own curiosity first, that’s all.  Don’t get too comfortable, Eren.  You know how she is.  Orders are orders and she will have my head if I don’t obey.  I _will_ bring him in.”

The two demons seemed to have a wordless conversation through glares and quirking of eyebrows before they both returned to a more relaxed posture.  Levi wasn’t sure what was going on, but he felt that some sort of silent agreement had been reached that none of the rest of them would ever be privy to.  He also wondered who this ‘she’ was that they all kept referring to.  He decided to ask Eren once they were alone again.  It wasn’t exactly suitable dinner conversation.  Was this even considered a dinner party?  Again, what exactly were they all doing in his home? 

And also, since when was he caught up with social niceties?

“So, what the fuck are you all doing here anyway?” he asked point blank. 

They all turned to stare at him with a mixture of expressions that varied from amused (Bertholdt), to guilty (Krista) to annoyed (Ymir).  Hanji burst out into barely contained laughter.

“Ungrateful bastard,” he heard Ymir mutter under her breath.

“I’m not asking you to get out or anything!  Jeez, I’m just curious.” 

She rolled her eyes.  “I’m allowed, aren’t I?”

“I happened to be nearby, so I wanted to check in on you,” Hanji sniggered.  “Besides, I missed you bestie!  We haven’t talked in ages…”

“I was already here,” Bertholdt said by way of explanation to everyone else.

“Great, so my place is like some trendy social hub now,” he mulled over this ridiculous idea in his head for a moment.  The thought of rowdy, messy teenagers running around his impeccably clean home shaved a good five years off his life.  “I change my mind.  Get out.”

“Levi, you’re just tired and cranky,” Eren said rubbing soothing circles into his shoulders.  “I’m not asking our friends to leave.  Besides, you’ll feel better once you’ve had your tea.”

Having the knots and tension massaged away was such heaven.  The stress that had been putting a damper in his mood slipped away as did all his cares in the world.  His bones turned to mush, the feeling that he was melting like butter was not exactly horrible.  He supposed they could stay, he thought with a long blissful sigh.

“Fine,” he relented.

“Fucking drama queen,” he heard Ymir mutter, again under her breath. 

Levi didn’t even have time to send her an annoyed glare before the doorbell rang, making him jump in his seat.  There’s no way this could be a FedEx delivery guy at this time of night, and he sure as hell wasn’t expecting company.  Who could it be?

“I’ll get it!” Krista sang out cheerfully. 

She opened the door to reveal a smug looking Jean with Marco, Connie and Sasha peeking in from behind him.

“I was wondering why it was so noisy over here.  What’s the deal Jaeger, throwing a party without us?”

“Come on, guys!  You know it’s not like that,” Eren said apologetically as he walked over to meet their friends.  “And, what?  You all just happen to stop by at the same time?”

“We were studying for tomorrow’s Chem test,” Connie explained.  “But now we’re pretty much burned out now, ya know?  Man, our brains are fried!  And not even in a fun way.”

“We were trying for an all-nighter,” Marco added mischievously.  “But it’s a little hard with all the shenanigans going on over here.  Do you guys mind that we’re here, crashing your party?”

“What?  Not even!” Eren shook his head emphatically.  “Come on in.  And, it’s _not_ a party.  Everyone just happens to be showing up for some reason.”

Their friends walked in and greeted everyone who was already there. 

Jean did a double take when he realized Bertholdt was there, but he decided to greet him with a friendly handshake anyway.

“Hey, aren’t you the guy who was kicking Jaeger’s butt at the concert?  What, are you two best friends now?” he mocked.  “Figures.  Fucking Eren…”

Bertholdt seemed a little surprised at Jean’s friendliness, but shook his hand anyway.

“It was a misunderstanding,” he said easily.

“Don’t sweat it man, Jaeger’s a hot-headed douchebag.  It’s bound to happen.”

The two men chuckled.

Fuck.  It was happening again.  Damn college kids and their damned incessant partying.  Levi grumbled as quietly as he could, hoping no one noticed.

Krista and Hanji got busy mixing drinks for everyone.  Levi worried out loud that he wasn’t exactly prepared for so much company and there might not be enough.

“Don’t worry, that’s Armin and Mikasa’s job,” Connie said dismissively.

“What, to worry?” Levi asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

Connie laughed. 

“Sorry, I mean it’s their job to fetch the drinks when we spontaneously get together like this.  That’s where they are now.  They’ll be here soon.”

“Oh,” Levi answered as politely as he could.  He wasn’t exactly up for a party, but Eren was right, he couldn’t just ask their friends to leave.

Thankfully Hanji plopped onto the couch next to him and handed him an ice cold Mojito. 

The doorbell rang again revealing Armin and Mikasa with the alcoholic motherload consisting of various cases of bottled beer and several bottles of hard liquors.  There were so many kids in his condo now that no one even questioned the big blonde that walked in behind them.

He walked over to where Bertholdt was standing and asked him with much confusion.

“Uh… Bert, what’s going on here?”

“College party,” Bertholdt said simply.

“Oh,” Reiner answered though it was obvious nothing was cleared up for him at all.

To Levi’s surprise, they managed to fit in without any of their friends noticing.  They seemed to be up to date on all current topics of conversation that were brought up and even joked around easily with them.

“Levi,” Hanji whispered leaning into him.  “It’s not just me, right?  This is fucking weird, isn’t it?  _It is_ , right?!”

Levi nodded in affirmation.

“Ah!  Thank god,” she chuckled.  Then she added with much relief in her voice, “finally!  It’s not just me!  Woo!”

She clinked her Mojito glass with his in celebration. 

“By the way, when can I expect you over?” she asked.

“For what?”

“Oh no, you don’t!  I’m not letting you dance your way out of this one mister!”

Levi made a face at her.  What the fuck was she talking about?

“Levi!  Come on!  I need to examine you.  You know, _non-conventionally_.”

“Oh,” he said, his spirits plummeting again.  Is that all he could say to anything anymore, ‘oh’?  What was becoming of his life?

“It’s for your health, Levi,” she said sympathetically.  “It’s important.  We all love you.”

“I know,” he acknowledged.  “It can be any time.  Just let me know when you’re ready for me.”

“Good,” she smiled clearly relieved. 

She must have been expecting him to put up more of a fight.  He wasn’t sure he really had any fight left in him.  He just wanted to know, that’s all.  Once he knew what he was dealing with, then he could face it head on.

“Hmm…” her train of thought seemed to suddenly change tracks.  “You know, I didn’t realize you guys had so many young friends.  Do you think they’d be able to help me move back into my house?”  After a moment of dwelling on that though, she snorted suddenly as though something were really really funny.  “Levi, wouldn’t it be funny if that big blonde guy who’s here with Bertholdt was also a demon?  Heck, then between them and Eren I would be done moving in one day!”

Levi almost choked on his drink, his eyes widening with shock.  Hanji gaped at him, her face contorting into disbelief mixed with a weird glee.

She gasped long and loud before squealing “Shut the fuck up!”

He simply nodded as an answer.  She jumped out of her seat and made a bee-line to where Reiner was chatting up Krista.  Ymir, who’d been scowling at the situation, was instantaneously relieved when Hanji pulled the big demon away for questioning.  He seemed confused about the whole thing and maybe even a little afraid of Hanji.  As well he should be, Levi thought darkly.

Karma came back to bite him in the ass when Eren pulled out his Karaoke machine from their room and everyone excitedly cheered him on to set it up.

Oh joy, Levi shriveled up internally.  He got to listen to them butcher songs he already couldn’t stand.

And so, for the first time since moving there, Levi found himself hoping his neighbors would call the cops on him.

 

\---

 

Sadly, no one did. 

The party went on into the wee hours and it only got bigger.  Other friends of the kids had dropped by to say hi and students they didn’t even know were loitering outside enjoying the music. 

No amount of alcohol would ever burn the memory of Armin grinding his perky derriere to the beat of Britney Spears’ _Toxic_.  No amount of shame would ever be enough as far as he was concerned when it came to the fact that he’d witnessed Jean and Connie team up to sing _Telephone_.  Some things you just can’t unsee.  Surprisingly Mikasa had teamed up with Sasha to sing Taylor Swift’s _You Belong With Me_.  He had to admit, they’d been adorable.

The best thing that had come out of the whole spectacle, in his opinion, was Eren’s version of The Plain White T’s _Hey There Delilah._ His voice was silky and sultry and felt like soothing honey to his ears.  Although his boyfriend had had the whole room enthralled, Eren had focused only on Levi the whole time he’d been singing making him feel like it was especially for him, like he was the only one in the room that mattered.  He’d be lying if he said it didn’t turn his stomach to jello. 

His boyfriend sure was a suave mofo.

Eventually though, all good things and even all embarrassing things come to an end.

Bertholdt and Reiner were the first to leave, sneaking out unnoticed again.

Slowly, the others all trickled out, saying their goodbyes.

“Oh, hey Levi?” Krista, who’d been standing in the doorway waiting for Ymir, suddenly turned back to ask. 

“Yeah?”

“Were you able to meet up with your friend the other day?”

“What?  What friend?”

Levi was genuinely confused.  What friend of his could Krista possibly be talking about?  She only knew their mutual friends as far as he could remember.

“I guess you weren’t answering your phone… and then you weren’t home… but I happened to be here so-” she barely managed to say before she was pulled away by a very impatient Ymir.

“Come on!  You’ve got an early class tomorrow, remember?”

Now they remember this?  NOW?!  Levi wanted to scream after them.

“Oh, yeah.  See you later Levi!” Krista waved with a giggle as she was hauled into the aqua Mini Cooper.  The next instant two girls were driving away leaving Levi with the unanswered question. 

Who had been looking for him?

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was debating a song for Krista to sing, and watched Nicki Minaj's Anaconda for the first time.   
> Holy cow that was scandalous! 
> 
> (She's so cute, I may have re-watched it... several times. he he he)


	25. Old Friends and New Friends are the same friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Levi,” she said with a tired voice, though she tried to make it sound lighthearted. “Everything about you is serious. Dead serious. When are you going to loosen up already?”  
> “Gosh, I don’t know,” the sarcasm oozed naturally, plus he was feeling exasperated now. “Maybe when weird shit stops happening to me- all the fucking time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me how my brain works, I don't even know.   
> I just roll with it.
> 
> (smacks own head on keyboard)

* * *

 

 

“Good boy!  Here’s your cookie and OJ!”

Levi quickly grabbed the cookie she held out with his free hand and bit into it greedily.  White chocolate chip macadamia were his absolute favorites and Dottie’s were the best he’d ever tasted.  There was no way he was going to pass one up.  He almost moaned in absolute pleasure when the taste quickly overwhelmed his senses. 

Hanji pushed the cup of OJ towards him.  He took a look at the cup and then looked back up at her.  Did it not occur to her that he couldn’t grab the juice because he was keeping his arm bent, keeping pressure on the cotton ball covering his vein, as per her instructions?  He made no effort to grab the cup and stared at her blankly until she got the hint. 

She stared back for a bit then re-offered him the cup scrunching up her face in confusion, to which he raised an eyebrow.  She inhaled sharply and smacked herself on the forehead after finally realizing her error.

“Um… yeah…” she chuckled awkwardly.  “Well, I’ll just set it over here for you then,” she set the cup down on the kitchen table in front of him.

Dottie dropped a bendy straw into his cup to make it easier for him to sip. 

“Here you go sugar,” she said lightly rubbing his shoulder.

“Thank you, Dottie,” Levi smiled up at her.

“You’re very welcome,” she sang as she sashayed out of the room.

“Thank you for assisting, Auntie!” Hanji yelled after her in an attempt to have manners.

“Mhm…” they heard the older woman respond faintly from the living room.  At the same time they heard the sound of the TV clicking on and the annoying fanfare of commercials.

Levi tried his best not to get judgy about Dottie’s choice in shows, but damn it was hard.  He was not able to keep the scowl from creeping onto his face upon hearing the voices of the real housewives of wherever the heck they were nowadays; he hated reality shows with a passion.  Hanji gave an amused laugh. 

“Come on princess, let’s move down to the basement.”

 

\---

 

“How soon do you think you’ll have the results?” he asked casually. 

At least he hoped it sounded casual.  He had zero ideas what his friend could possibly be testing for and to be honest, he was a little freaked out that it had come to this. 

Sawney had apparently told Bean of the entertaining events that went on when Levi was around because both cats had followed them downstairs and they now sat comfortably on either side of him.  They kept peeking up at him expectantly, waiting for him to perform his neat tricks, or so he supposed.  The sad thing was, he wasn’t even sure he was going to disappoint them.  Who knew what kind of fuckery could and would happen to him at any given moment?  He sipped his juice noisily hoping the obnoxious slurps were as annoying to their sensitive ears as they were to his.

“The results?  The results don’t take very long.  I should have them today,” she mumbled as she tapped away at her computer.  “Interpreting the results is what’s going to take time.  After all, I don’t exactly know what I’m looking for.  I wracked by brain for hours upon hours trying to decide what to test for.  There are some things I had a hunch about, and well, it couldn’t hurt to try.  Other things… eh, I’m not going to lie to you- it’s just stuff that occurred to me at random.”

Well, it’s not like the conventional tests hadn’t already been done.  Plus, Hanji’s random guesses were far better than most people’s well educated well researched guesses, so Levi was comfortable letting the messy haired brunette do as she pleased.

“Hey, Hanji?” he started hesitantly.

Hanji hummed as an answer without even turning around.

“Have you heard anything from Mike recently?”

He didn’t miss the way her back stiffened upon hearing the name.

“No…  Not really.  Why do you ask?” she said distractedly.

“Remember I said we needed to talk?” he asked the crazy brunette to which she shrugged.  She probably didn’t.

She stopped typing suddenly as though something had suddenly occurred to her and turned around to face him smiling mischievously.

“What?  Are you breaking up with me Levi?  Is this ‘the talk’?”

“No shithead, this is serious.”

With a heavy sigh, she walked over to the couch and plopped down beside him causing Sawney to fall off.  He protested loudly with a screechy meow.  Hanji picked him up gingerly and cuddled him cozily on her lap. 

“Levi,” she said with a tired voice, though she tried to make it sound lighthearted.  “Everything about you is serious.  Dead serious.  When are you going to loosen up already?”

“Gosh, I don’t know,” the sarcasm oozed naturally, plus he was feeling exasperated now.  “Maybe when weird shit stops happening to me- all the fucking time!”

“Well, okay then,” she gave a humorless laugh.  “Serious it is.  What’s wrong?”

Levi never was one to beat around the bush.

“Why are you avoiding our friends?”

Hanji’s face fell.  She clearly had not expected that question.

“W-what?  I’m not avoiding anyone…”

“Cut the crap, I _know_ you are.   But I want to know why.”

“I’m just- I’m not ready!” she exclaimed nervously.  She took a moment to gather her thoughts before groaning in frustration.  “Levi, I just wanted to be back home.  In _my_ home.  You know, feeling ‘normal’ again before facing them.  I mean, come on!  I was in a fucking _mental institution_ for god’s sake!”

Levi was not used to seeing his best friend so clearly agitated.  She was so upset she was shaking.

“I know that Hanji!  You think I wasn’t worried every single goddamn day you were in there?” he started, then cursed softly when he saw her bottom lip tremble.  “Shit.  I’m sorry, ok?  I’m sorry.”  He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing.  “Look.  I’m not saying you don’t deserve to take your time.  I’m one hundred percent fine with that.  You don’t want to see those assholes?  Good.  Don’t!  I will not judge you for that.  You know why?”

She gave a barely perceptible shake of her head.

“Because I know better than anyone that they are indeed _fucking assholes,_ that’s why!”

She gave a small chuckle which gave Levi the tiniest bit of relief.

“But Hanji, I don’t like feeling like you’re keeping things from me.  And I _do_ feel that way.  If I’m wrong, just tell me and I’ll kindly fuck off.  But please, I need you to tell me.”

She picked at her dry bottom lip, deciding whether or not she was going to speak.  Her hand trembling just the slightest bit when she ran her fingers through Sawney’s thick coat.

“I don’t trust them,” she finally said and then took a deep breath as though it had taken everything out of her just to say it.

She looked directly into his eyes, her gaze unfaltering, her chin jutted out ever so slightly as though she was bracing herself for his criticism.  He stared back searching her large brown eyes for answers.  It didn’t take long because in that instant he knew, Ymir was right.  Hanji was his best friend, she’d always been his truest friend and she always would be.

“Neither do I,” he admitted to her apparent amazement. 

Her eyes grew wide like saucers, her jaw dropped and he could almost see all the tension leave her body.

“The reason I ask is because Mike’s missing, ok?” she gaped at him as though he’d lost his mind. 

“What?  What do you mean he’s _missing_?  I figured he was just avoiding Erwin after what happened between them.  But, missing?  I mean, sure, people go missing all the time but… but not people we _know_ …” she trailed off.

“Auruo’s also missing.”

“What?!  Him too?” she exclaimed, her face contorting with disbelief.  He nodded solemnly.  “Levi… what is going _on_ with everyone?” she slumped back into the couch cushions, clearly drained.

“I don’t know Hanji.  I don’t fucking know.  And to be honest, I was kind of hoping you did.”

She noisily blew air out of her mouth, “Well, that makes two of us.  I was kind of hoping you knew too, I mean about _my_ situation.  But at the same time, I was really really hoping you didn’t know any of it.  I mean, you’re going through so much right now.  First with your _disaster_ of a love life-”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No offense,” she quickly added.  “And then you have all the voodoo with Eren and now there’s those other guys too…  Good lord, Levi!  How much more can we take?”

“Believe me, I know,” he massaged his temple absentmindedly.

“Levi?” she said hesitantly. 

“Spit it out,” he grumbled impatiently.

“Arrrrghhhh!!!” she rocked back and forth in her seat, fidgeting nervously.  She didn’t even flinch when Sawney dug his nails in her pants leg, holding on for dear life.   “I really was hoping to avoid this but… I think… I think Erwin may have had a hand in getting me put away-”

Levi wordlessly bolted out of his seat and swiftly made for the door.  Hanji barely managed to grab him by his jeans and clung onto him, dragging him down so he wouldn’t be able to move away. 

“No, Levi!  Stop!  It’s just a suspicion at this point!”

“Hanji!” he spat out trying to wrench himself out of her grasp.  “Don’t you dare fucking defend him!  At this point you could tell me he jay walked five years ago and I would still go kick his sorry ass!”

“LEVI!” she jumped up grabbing onto both his arms sending Sawney flying into the air.  Luckily he landed on his feet.  Always.  She tripped up Levi’s feet, knocking him off balance and managed to wrestle him to the ground where she used the advantage of her long limbs to pin him down.

“Damnit Hanji!” he grumbled struggling to push her off.

“Dammit Levi!” she echoed back.  “It’s not worth it!  A guy as pretty as you can’t possibly survive in jail, you’ll end up as some big guy’s girlfriend- or… well maybe you’ll like it now that I think about it.  Wait, no- forget it!  I won’t let you ruin your life over that guy!”

It was so inappropriate Levi couldn’t help but laugh.  Stupid four eyes!

“Levi, please…” she pleaded, her eyes full of concern. 

He couldn’t stand to see her in such a state, so he forced himself to calm down. 

“Tell me what you know and I’ll think about it,” he demanded to which she nodded.  He stopped struggling, sat up and turned to face her expectantly.  She did the same.

“Ok,” she took a deep breath.  “Well, when I got arrested, it was obviously a big deal for me.  I thought I was going to the slammer for sure, you know?  I don’t think I need to tell you… it wasn’t exactly the best time of my life.  Luckily I was only institutionalized, thank god!  It could have been so much worse.  And then I was lucky enough to have you come visit me like _all_ the time!  This is going to sound sappy, I know, but just shut up and hear me out ok, cause it needs to be said.  It made me feel so much better when you came to check up on me, Levi!  Just knowing that you cared and that you weren’t going to leave me in there to rot- you have no idea how much that meant to me!  Sure my aunt visited me, Eld visited- heck even Mike visited a few times, but you’re the one I clung to, you’re the one who really got me through it, you were all I needed.  So in the end I was fine with him never stopping in.  I mean, why would he?  You know how he is, busy with his big corporate job all the time.  And yeah it hurt my feelings… only a _lot_ \- but still, it never occurred to me that he would ever do anything like this.  Why would I think anything like that, right?”

If Hanji meant for this to calm him down, she was failing miserably.  He had to press his lips together firmly to keep his dark thoughts unspoken.  She must not have noticed his dark aura killing every happy thought in the room because she continued unhindered.

“Then, Eren mentioned that he’d seen Erwin’s name in some of my documentation when he was possessing Dr. Thomas.  It was confidential of course, so Erwin probably never expected anyone to ever see it.  The paperwork the doctor has isn’t anything that directly mentions Erwin’s involvement, it’s more than a little vague and they use security measures like using aliases, blacking out vital information and striking out names for confidentiality.   So I’ve been following the paper trail, trying to find anything unaltered.  Levi…”

She finally took in his expression, letting her shoulders slump in defeat. 

“I know, ok?  I know!  Just let me confirm it first.  I think I’m really close to getting solid evidence.  And if it _is_ true, then I will even help hold the fucker down for you!  Come on…  Please?”

“Fine,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” she smiled weakly. 

Were those tears in her eyes?  He mentally cursed every expletive he knew and wished he knew some more because it didn’t feel like it was enough.  Hanji gasped loudly when she suddenly found herself being lifted off the ground and wrapped in possibly the first bear hug she’d ever gotten from her closest friend. 

“Levi?”

“Hanji, I don’t know what’s going through that crazy brain of yours, but I trust you.  You’re my best friend and I care about you.  It hurts me to see you this way, understand?”

She pulled back to look at him with a big stupid grin on her face.  And that made him feel infinitely better.

“Same,” she laughed as they plopped back down on the huge orange couch.

“Meowrrr…” Sawney, who’d been watching them argue intently, jumped into Hanji’s lap alternately looking between her and Levi with what could only be described as a freaked out expression. 

“Aw, don’t worry pumpkin!  We’re not really fighting see?”  She grabbed Levi forcing him into an awkward hug and gave the cat such an exaggeratedly large smile that could only be described as diabolical.  It was fucking frightening to the untrained eye.  The marmalade cat arched his back, hissing repeatedly.  “Levi,” Hanji whispered.  “Smile at him too so he calms down.”

“Tch!  That’s not really helping, dumbass.  Can’t you see you’re scaring the little shit?”

 “Whaaat?” In an effort to prove him wrong, Hanji tried to pet the cat, but he swatted her hand away.

The tabby stared up at her meowing loud and long.  The more she tried to soothe him the more agitated he became. 

“Hanji,” Levi wasn’t sure, and maybe he was just imagining things, but he felt the cat was trying to say something.  “Sawney is actually a human, right?”

“Duh, I thought we’d already established that long ago Levi!” she said condescendingly.  “Oh my god, are you losing your memory too?!”

“No!  Just shut the fuck up and listen for a moment.”

Sawney, who’d apparently been following their conversation, jumped into Levi’s lap and looked up at him, meowing somewhat more calmly.  It sounded more questioning than agitated this time.

“Yes, he definitely wants to say something.  But we can’t bring Eren over without Dottie getting violent.  When are you guys going to restore him?”

Sawney looked up at Hanji, his eyes wide, curious to hear the answer.

“We can do it as soon as we’re back at my place.  If your friends can help me with the move, we should be able to have it done by this weekend.”

“Done.  I will make sure those slackers understand they have no choice in this.”

“Ha ha!  Thanks Levi.  I wonder what this little crabby pumpkin has to share?”

“I don’t know.  But if it’s stupid, I will shave his ass.”

Sawney’s ears perked up at this comment.  Then he dug his nails into Levi’s legs to know he was not happy about it.

“Ow!  Stupid fleabag!”   

 

\---

 

**Levi:**   Ok, we are a go for this weekend. 

 

Levi sent the text to his best friend as soon as he was able to confirm.

The guys hadn’t asked any questions, hadn’t put up any kind of fight, hadn’t even spewed out one bitchy word of protest.  They’d just accepted it like it was a given: 

Oh, we’re going to help Hanji move this weekend?  Got it.  Jean, you get the truck. 

Levi had been so surprised Connie had to explain that they moved so often between their respective homes to dorms or apartments each year that they were just used to it.  It had become a trained response, like Pavlov’s dogs.

 

**Hanji:**   Great!  I will let Ymir know.  See you then~  XD

 

**Levi:**   Dammit Hanji!

 

**Hanji:**   What? >.<

**Hanji:**   Lol…

 

\---

 

Levi was beginning to wonder whether he had any control of his dreams at all.  He’d sometimes have what felt like normal dreams, and he would wake up not really remembering much about them.  Which was fine, they didn’t feel like they were important anyway.  Then there were those nights when he was in that stupid same dream with the stupid same fountain and that stupid same kid who was now actively avoiding him.

It irritated him to no end.  It was just a stupid dream, so why was he getting so worked up over it?  Besides the obvious guilt, that is.  For whatever reason he always remembered what happened in _these_ dreams, every little boring detail, and lately it was just him wandering around the place trying to find that kid so he could at least try to apologize.

Finally one night he was able to sneak up on the boy.  He was hunched over, silently observing what appeared to be just another potted topiary.  The kid seemed to be entranced by something on the plant, barely breathing as though he were afraid to make a noise.  Levi couldn’t tell what the fuck he was up to, but he wasn’t going to question it.  This was his chance and damn if he wasn’t going to take it.

He approached the boy with the stealth of a cat, not a single twig snapping under his careful step.  Just before he pounced he saw the boy reach to the plant and it looked like he was cupping his hands.  He wondered for a split second what that was all about, but then quickly put that thought out of his mind as he tackled the boy to the ground.   The boy squeaked in surprise before he crashed onto the grass with a loud ‘oof’!

“Gotcha!” Levi grunted in victory.

The boy who was not Eren struggled to get free from the shorter man but found his attempts were futile.  Levi had him carefully pinned down and he was much stronger so all the kid’s attempts for freedom were in vain.  He wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the kid glowering up at him the way he was doing now.

“He got away!” the boy grumbled a little out of breath.

Levi’s face twisted in confusion. 

“Who got away?  I haven’t seen anyone else here but us.”

The boy’s face suddenly went blank with this question.

“Uh, well… The little green animal with wings?  I’ve seen them here a lot,” his face suddenly lit up and he rushed on excitedly.  “I hadn’t noticed them before because they blend in with the plants.  I started to pay more attention when I noticed one flying around, then I realized they were everywhere.  They were too quick for me to be able to get a good look.  But today, today I was finally able to get close to one!  He didn’t seem scared at all.  I almost caught him!”

_The little animal with wings?_

The way this kid was talking, the way he couldn’t remember his own name.  He must have lost his memory.  That certainly made sense now that he thought about it.  Fucking kid got weirder and weirder every time.

“I’ll help you catch one if you want,” Levi offered.

The boy eyed him with uncertainty.

“You- you would?  Why?”

“Why not?  You want to see one don’t you?”

“Well yeah, but…” he suddenly seemed really uncomfortable again.  “Why would you want to help _me_?  I mean, you don’t even like me…”

“Shitty brat!” Levi grumbled out.  Was the kid really going to make him talk about his feelings?  “I don’t _dislike_ you ok?”

The boy eyed him with an utterly confused expression.

“But… you yelled at me before.  And just now you pushed me onto the ground and won’t let me go.  I’m pretty sure I have scratches everywhere-”

“Christ!  I’m sorry ok?!” Levi blurted out before the kid made him feel more awkward if that was even possible.  The boy flinched at his loud voice but then was confused by the apology. 

“So… you didn’t mean to push me down like that?  I’m confused.  I don’t really see how it could have happened on accident…”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Levi sighed heavily, why was this damned kid making this so hard?  “But I didn’t mean to hurt you either.  Here, sit up.  Let me explain, cause if I don’t you’re just going to keep messing with my head and I am going to go insane!”

They both sat cross-legged on the surprisingly soft grass, the boy staring at Levi with large eyes, curious as to what he had to say.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you the other time.  I was angry, but it had nothing to do with you.  You haven’t done anything to deserve that and… so I’m sorry ok?” the boy who was not Eren smiled a little.  “Also, I only pushed you down because you’ve been avoiding me and I didn’t think you would listen to me any other way.  So, I’m sorry if that hurt too.  Ok?”

The kid suddenly flushed at this part of the apology.

“I guess that much is true.  I was too afraid of what you’d say to me.  I probably wouldn’t have let you come near me.”

“Ok, then,” Levi moved on.  He didn’t like to linger on things like this.  “Let’s go find that winged thing you were looking for.”  He got up and offered the boy a hand to help him up.  The boy took it with no hesitation much to his relief.

Levi had a suspicion as to what it might be that the boy was looking for if he was cupping his hands near that plant.  He headed off towards the hedges and after a few moments of careful observation was able to spot his victim.  He caught it easily and headed over to where the boy was also searching.

“Hey,” he said nonchalantly.  “Hold your hands out carefully.”

The kid’s face lit up like a Christmas tree when he realized what Levi was implying.  He held his hands out carefully, cupping them so they were only slightly parted and allowed Levi to transfer his catch.  Once he was sure he had the little animal secure in his clutches, he opened his hands just the tiniest bit and stared inside.  Levi watched as the kid examined the insect with silent awe.

“It tickles,” the boy chuckled softly.

Levi smiled at the boy’s wonder. 

“Jeez kid, you’d think you’ve never seen a grasshopper before.” 

“Grass… hopper…” the boy repeated carefully.  “That’s a weird name.  But… I suppose it also kind of fits the little guy.  Grasshopper…”

“You know what else is also a weird name?” the boy shook his head questioningly.  “‘Shitty brat’, that’s what.  Since you can’t remember your name, do you mind if I give you one for now?”

“Um, I guess?” he shrugged.

“Good, cause it’s confusing as hell not knowing what to call you.  You can be Eliel.  Just for now, at least.  Does that sound fine?”

“Eliel,” he said slowly.  “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Good.  Now let the little guy go before you suffocate him.”

“Oh!  R-right!” he said anxiously as though it had never occurred to him that the little insect needed to breathe.

He opened his hands slowly and watched with quiet fascination as the grasshopper crawled up to his fingertips, spread his wings gingerly and then took off into the weird orange sky.

Eliel watched him fly away until he was no more than a little speck in the sky.

“I wonder if he can fly high enough to reach that other world up there…” Eliel wondered out loud.

Levi was somewhat baffled by his train of thought. What other world?  He looked up and only saw the moon.

“You mean the moon?”

Eliel looked at him as though he’d said something in an alien language.

“That other place up there- the reddish orange round place?” he asked pointing up at the giant round celestial body.

“Yes, that’s the moon.”

“Have you been there?” he asked suddenly with such fascination Levi almost burst out laughing.

“No… it’s too far for us to reach it.”

“Oh,” he seemed disappointed.

“Plus we can’t fly so…”

“Yeah, I noticed we don’t have wings.  That sucks.”

Levi couldn’t swallow the chuckle that fought itself out of his mouth this time.  The boy eyed him with curiosity.

“You know what Eliel?  You’re right,” Levi agreed.  “That does suck.”

Eliel smiled warmly at him. 

This left Levi in a mild state of confusion.  He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that.

 

\---

 

“What… the… _hell_ …” Ymir muttered under her breath. 

She covered Krista’s eyes, effectively shielding her from what she deemed to be an offensive sight.

Eren looked on seemingly unaffected and wondering what the big deal was.

_It’s ok.  This is fine._

Levi sighed heavily.  This was just another thing that happened in his weird ass life. 

Hanji had been stifling her giggling all this time, and finally seemed to be getting it under control.

“Well, I guess we should have expected it,” she said between gasps for air.  “It’s our own fault, really.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ymir relented.  “We should have known better.”

They all stared down at the man lying naked on the floor.  Bare-ass naked. 

“Tch!  For fuck's sake, it’s not like he was wearing tiny cat clothes, guys,” Levi rolled his eyes at them.  “Grow up!”

“TINY CAT CLOTHES!” Hanji cackled and lost it again.  “Levi- stop it- I can’t-”

The man who used to be Sawney finally sat up.  He held his head in his hands groaning in pain.

“You guys didn’t warn me that it was going to suck so bad!” he admonished. 

Hanji had to step away because she couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Well, to be fair, none of us has ever been an animal before so,” Ymir shrugged.  “You’re welcome, by the way,” she added bitterly.

“I’m sorry!  I definitely don’t mean to sound ungrateful…  Thank you so much for that Ymir!”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved him off.  “Don’t sweat it.  You helped us out and we had a deal.  So you don’t have to get all bent out of shape over it... uh, Sawney.” She paused for a moment and then declared.  “I just gotta say, I feel really fucking weird talking to a cat who is now a person.  It’s like: ‘Oh hey Mittens, you tired of chasing mice?  No problem!  Here be a human.  Poof!  Ok, now go get a job.’  Fucking.  _Weird!_ ”

“I agree,” Levi added.

“Believe me guys, no one is more freaked out about this than I am,” he paused when Hanji came back to hand him some clothes.  “By the way, you do know Sawney isn’t actually my name, right?”

They all stared at each other in sudden confusion.  No, this really hadn’t occurred to any of them.

“Heeey now…” Hanji suddenly whined.  “What’s wrong with Sawney?  I really like that name…”

“No!  I didn’t mean there was anything wrong with it!” he spluttered, clearly embarrassed.  “I mean, that’s just not my real name, that’s all.  I didn’t mean anything by it.  I really appreciate you taking care of me all this time.”

“Ok,” Hanji cheered up.  “Good then!”

“So what _is_ your name then?” Levi asked impatiently.  He didn’t miss the way the twerp was getting all flustered around Hanji and he sure as hell didn’t like it.  Stupid two-timing cat better not have a thing for his now former owner.

“It’s Moblit.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting some answers, but there are still some important things that need to happen before this baby's done...  
> ^.^


	26. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moblit reveals what he knows, which is unpleasant, and Levi makes another housecall, which is more unpleasant. But at least his health is improving...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait on this chapter. I was a little hesitant to update it because... ugh you'll see. 
> 
> On the other hand, I can't believe this has more than 9,000 hits! Wow guys!  
> How do we celebrate such a thing?  
> Or... should I ask- who's trash? (raises hand)
> 
> (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

* * *

 

 _“Moblit?”_ Ymir echoed making a face.  “I think I like Sawney better.”

“I know right!” Hanji squealed which made Moblit groan in frustration.

“Can I see now?” Krista asked timidly.

“Oh, right!” Ymir quickly removed her hands from the smaller girl’s eyes.  “Sorry honey.”

“Ooh!” she exclaimed upon seeing Moblit, fully human, lying on the couch.  “But wait!  Now we’ll have to get a replacement companion for Bean,” she commented matter of factly.

“Just make sure to get an older one,” Moblit said thoughtfully.  “She’ll be upset if you get a kitten.  It will be like she’s being replaced, you know?”

“You were able to communicate with her?” Hanji gasped in wonder.  She swiftly threw herself down on the edge of the couch next to him, having zero qualms about invading his personal space.  “How fascinating!”

“Are you really surprised, four eyes?” Levi’s sarcasm knew no end.  “The little shit was probably putting the moves on her.”

“W-What?!” Moblit sucked in a sharp breath, clearly outraged.  “I-I was not!  She’s a cat!”

“So were you,” Eren pointed out mischievously.

“B-but… no- you don’t understand, she’s old!  Um, I mean- old _er_ …”

“Well, lucky for you Hanji is still young and virile!” Ymir joined the jeering.

Moblit opened his mouth to protest, but no words would come out due to his overwhelming embarrassment.

“Leave him alone guys!” Hanji chastised, though she was also giggling.  “He’s learned his lesson, right Sawney?”

“Moblit- and yes!  Dating is just too… _problematic_.  I may just give up on the whole thing entirely to be honest.” 

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Hanji declared gripping his shoulder so tightly his face scrunched up in visible pain.  “Dating is for Neanderthals.  You and I have evolved beyond that, right?”

“R-right…” he didn’t really sound convincing, but Levi was sure that Hanji didn’t notice.

“Anyway… you will have to tell me all about Bean’s innermost darkest secrets later.  But for now… how do you feel Sawn- er, uh Moblit?  Yeah Moblit,” Hanji trailed off with laughter.

“Better,” he said smiling up at her.

“Good, good,” she whipped out a pen and notepad seemingly from thin air.  “Now, how about you tell me what it felt like during your transformation.”  

“Uh, what?  Which… part?” he asked nervously.

“Well… all of it, of course!  The shapeshifting on its own must have been pretty darn disorienting, am I right?  Did it make you want to toss your cookies?  Do you want to puke your guts out right now?  Should I get a wastebasket for you just in case?  (Oh gross!  It will probably be cat food too!  Ew!)”

Hanji was talking excitedly, motioning wildly with her hands.  Moblit had to dodge her repeatedly in order to avoid being accidentally whacked upside the head.  The mere mention of throwing up was making his face turn green.

“What?  Why?!  How long is this interrogation going to last?”

“Well… let’s just say it’s a good thing we got you all comfortable,” Hanji cackled.  She grinned down at him maniacally and leaned into the couch placing a hand on either side of his head.  This in turn had the man squirming uncomfortably.  As amusing as that was to Levi, he needed to get information out of him first before Hanji’s madness made him run for the hills.

“Dammit, shitty glasses, you’re scaring the crap out of him!” Levi interjected. 

“Levi!” she snapped.  “I don’t tell you how to do _your_ job.” 

“This isn’t even your job, dumbass!  Who the fuck would you even report these findings to?”

“Ah ha ha!” she burst out laughing.  “I guess you got me there.  You see, this is more of a hobby, Sawn- uh Moblit!  But you’re ok with it, right?  (Dammit, I keep getting confused with your name…)”

“It’s ok, Mr. Levi, I don’t mind.  Really.”

“Kiss ass!” Levi spat out angrily, making the nervous man flinch.  “Fine, you mental cases do what you want to- but only _after_ you tell me what you were going to say.  Once you give me that info then you can go back to your… beastiality, or wherever the fuck this conversation was going.”

Eren burst out laughing beside him.

Moblit turned a beautiful shade of red, clearly mortified, while Hanji just tilted her head not understanding what he meant.

“Well?” Levi raised an expectant eyebrow at him.

“R-right!” he stuttered nervously.  “Well, you guys were talking about Erwin and needing proof of his involvement in getting Hanji locked away, right?”

“What?!” Eren and Ymir exclaimed in unison.

“Now, now,” Hanji waved them off.  “Calm down, we don’t have proof guys.  So don’t go jumping the gun just yet.”

“Ok… well this isn’t directly about Erwin- but I think it’s related, so it might be important.”

“Any information will help,” Hanji assured.

“Well not long ago someone came over looking for you, Hanji, but you weren’t home.  I didn’t recall seeing her before, but Bean said she had seen her in the past and that she was your friend.  Dottie didn’t think you were going to be gone long, so she let her wait in the basement for you.”

“But Sawney, you know all my friends and I haven’t come home to find anyone waiting for me there.  Not that I know of anyway.”

“Moblit- urgh, nevermind!  Anyway, your aunt kind of forgot about her because she may have been… a little tipsy?  While she was down in the basement, she started getting really impatient.  At first she kind of looked around, but then… then she started going through your stuff.”

“What?!  How dare she?  Who is she Moblit?!”

“I-I don’t remember her name!  She’s kind of short, really pretty with shoulder length orange-ish hair?”

Levi and Hanji simultaneously turned to look at each other as if the direct eye contact would confirm their suspicions.  “Petra!”

“What else did she do?” Hanji grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.  “You better not be holding anything back, Sawney!  I swear…”

“She found some of your notes- I think they were about Eren- and your demonology books, she found those too!  Then she called that Erwin fellow and told him she’d found some information that he would be very interested in.”

He paused for a moment to let them all digest this information.  Hanji’s face twisted in anguish.

“No!  How could this happen?” she suddenly whined, letting go of his shirt to wring her hands through her hair.

 “Then what?” Levi prodded.

“Nothing else, that’s all!  She left after that.”

“But _how_?  How did she even know where to find me?” Hanji moaned.

“That um-” they heard Krista’s soft voice from beside Ymir.  “That may be… _my_ fault.”

Krista was biting her lip nervously, half hiding behind Ymir.

“Krista, is Petra the friend that was looking for me the other day?” Levi asked calmly.

She nodded slowly, staring at him with large frightened eyes.

“I told her you might be at Dottie’s with Hanji.  She said she was your friend- that you were _all_ friends.  So I… I figured it would be ok…”

Everyone in the room relaxed.  It was an honest mistake after all.

“I’m so sorry…” her small voice was a little shaky.

“It’s not your fault,” Levi assured her.  “You couldn’t have known what she was up to.”

Once everyone had left and Moblit was settled in her guest room, Hanji collapsed onto the couch and finally let her tears fall.

Levi sat down next to her, putting a re-assuring arm around her shoulders.

“Levi,” she whispered between hiccups.  “He’ll cover his tracks.  We’ll never find anything now.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured her.  “Everything will work out Hanji, you’ll see.”

“I sure hope so…”

 

\---

 

Almost two weeks passed by and Levi had been trying to contact Petra with no success.  He knew he had to confront her, but she wasn’t returning any of his calls or texts.  He had almost started to wonder if she hadn’t disappeared too, but Erwin told him she was fine.  Of course she’d answer _his_ texts.  So she was just plain avoiding him, but he couldn’t understand why.  It’s not like she knew that she’d been found out.  He decided that, much like everyone else, he would just have to go over to her place and pay her a little visit.  She couldn’t avoid him forever and he needed to understand what her reasons were before he decided to cut ties with her completely.

On a more positive note, he found he took great comfort in spending some of his dream time with Eliel.  The boy was like the little brother he never had or ever felt he needed.  The time they spent together had a noticeable calming effect on the shorter man.  They spent most of their time exploring their little dream world together talking about the most random things, like the time they came upon a well.  Eliel had been befuddled as to why anyone would need a well when the water in the nearby river was perfectly fine.

“Levi!  It’s literally _right there_!” he’d repeated stubbornly.

In the end he deemed it as a lot of unnecessary work and vowed that he would never over-complicate his life with ridiculous contraptions such as that one.  Levi had just smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

To add to his good mood and overall well being, he’d finally been able to put on some weight and no longer felt like he would be knocked over by the merest passing wind.  The dizziness had also substantially subsided along with the pain.  When Dr. Jinn noticed the improvement, he asked Levi what he was doing differently- just out of curiosity.  Levi had begun to explain that Hanji had placed him on a special diet along with a strict regime of vitamins to which the good doctor had held up a hand and declared:

“Say no more.  I don’t care if that woman is sacrificing virgins to Satan himself if these are the results she’s getting.  Just tell her I said don’t get caught,” he’d ended with a wink.

Sure, he ended up spending more time in a nutrition store than he would normally care to and that made him feel like a pretentious twat, but if that’s what it took, then he would just have to endure it- recyclable canvas bag and all.

Having more meat on his bones meant his clothes no longer hung on his body and he was able to resume his daily workouts.  Not as strenuously as he had before, but he was slowly working up to that level again.  Feeling comfortable in his own clothes made him feel more confident overall as well. 

And though Eren generally took very good care of him, having his confidence back made him feel just a little bit neglected in other areas.

 

\---

 

“Hey… you’re home early.”

He heard Eren say nervously from within his office as soon as he closed the door and slipped out of his shoes.  Levi narrowed his eyes in annoyance.  He hoped that brat wasn’t playing World of Warcraft again, because he’d already told him to get his own laptop to play that crap on.  He didn’t want to see it anywhere near his work files.  When Eren hadn’t complied right away he’d been banned from Levi’s office altogether.

He marched straight into his office and came to a sudden stop the second he saw his boyfriend sitting comfortably in the dark leather chair- fresh out of the shower and wearing nothing but boxers and a towel over his shoulders.  Well, he damn near almost passed out from the violent and sudden rush of hormones. 

“What’s this?” he asked motioning to Eren’s state of undress.

“I’m sorry!  I just wanted to quickly check my Facebook account before I put our dinner in the oven,” he answered sheepishly.  “Come on Levi, I thought you’d approve ‘cause I’m so squeaky clean!  Ok, well maybe not _approve_ , but you would be _less_ mad?  Maybe?”

Levi slowly walked over to him, glaring as best as he could, conveying with his steeled eyes and firm set of his jaw that Eren was going to be punished for breaking the sanctity of his office.

Eren squirmed nervously in the chair until Levi was almost within reach.  He suddenly couldn’t handle the weight of Levi’s stare and jolted nervously out of his seat. 

“I’m sorry!  I’ll wipe it down and it will be like I was never here!  I promise-”

Levi pushed him down and leaned over to grip each arm rest, effectively trapping him.  Eren shrank back into the chair looking up at Levi with wide eyes.

“Levi, I don’t want to have to bully you, but think of your health,” Eren scolded, doing his best to look stern.  “You can’t be getting mad over _every_ little thing.  This isn’t really that big of a deal, is it?”

Bully him?  Levi almost lost his composure fighting the urge to burst into laughter over this damn kid’s comment. 

His arm shot out roughly grabbing the boy’s chin, lifting his face up, granting him easier access when he leaned in and brought their lips crashing together.  It gave him great satisfaction when he heard Eren whimper into his mouth.  Levi gave a low growl of victory.  Good, he wasn’t the only one who’d been suffering.  He didn’t even have to ask for permission to enter Eren’s mouth, the demon complied more than willingly.  He grabbed Levi by his ass and pulled him onto his lap then wrapped his arms around him, keeping him balanced with one strong arm and caressing him desperately with the other.  Levi wrapped one arm around Eren’s neck, running his fingers through his soft damp hair and used the other as leverage against the back of the chair.  He was intoxicated with the smell of his lover’s familiar scent mixed with the freshness of shampoo and plain soap that clung to his dewey skin.

How had they managed to keep away from each for so long?  It seemed impossible now to the raven haired man.

Levi trembled fiercely when Eren suddenly bucked his hips, grinding his semi hard erection into Levi’s fully erect and extremely sensitive one.

“Mm, Eren!” he gasped softly biting down on Eren’s chin.  He was almost ashamed at how desperate he sounded.  Almost.

Everything was brought to a very disappointing halt when Eren suddenly stopped and held Levi away from himself.  Levi opened his eyes to glare angry daggers at his boyfriend for the rude interruption but was somewhat appeased when he saw the worry in those beautiful emerald eyes of his.

“Levi, did I hurt you?  I’m so sorry!  I shouldn’t be handling you so roughly.  Maybe…” he hesitated and Levi felt in his gut that he wasn’t going to like where Eren’s train of thought was heading.  “Maybe you should get some rest instead, ok?”

Rest?  Fuck _that!_

“You want to stop?” Levi asked with as calm an expression as he could manage.  Not something easy to accomplish when you’re panting like a dog in heat and your voice sounds like you’ve just massaged your throat with barb wire. 

“Yeah?” Eren said unconvincingly.  “I think it would be best.  Come on, I’ll carry you to bed.”

Levi slid off Eren’s lap and stood menacingly over him, not taking his eyes off the brat for one second.

When Eren made to get up as well, Levi pushed him roughly back onto the chair.

“Levi!” a shocked Eren admonished. 

_Stupid brat, I’m not your child to scold._

“Are you tired Eren?” Levi mocked.  “You can rest all you want.  As a matter of fact… I _forbid_ you from touching me at all.”

“W-what?!  What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said, brat,” Levi slowly undid his tie, tossing it carelessly onto the floor and started unbuttoning his shirt.  “If you lay one finger on me I will spend the night at Hanji’s.”

“No!  No Levi, you can’t do that!” he sputtered nervously.

“I can and I will.  Do you want to test me, _Eren_?”

The look of utter confusion mixed with the slightest bit of fear on Eren’s face was enough of an answer for him.  He knew the demon wouldn’t do anything to upset him.

Levi left his shirt on fully unbuttoned.  He didn’t touch his pants at all.  He was pissed and his erection would just have to wait until he could take care of it in private later.  Right now, he had some anger to work through.

Once again he leaned into Eren, resting one knee beside him, one hand on the armrest for support and tilted his head up to kiss him.  It was slower this time, with more purpose, not as desperate as before.  Eren was reluctant to return the kiss at first, but soon he was just as into it as before. 

He could feel Eren’s impatience grow with each tug he gave his lip and when he felt the boy get too worked up, he backed off and let him cool down a little before continuing.  He worked his way from kissing and biting Eren’s chin to sucking on the sensitive area just below Eren’s ear.  He smirked evilly when he felt Eren shudder underneath him.  Levi released Eren’s chin and let his hand roam over the smooth curves of Eren’s back and shoulders, feeling every bulge of muscle, every dip before letting his fingers slowly trail down his soft tan skin to his chest.  Mm, how he loved to feel the hard planes of his lover’s chest.  He cupped a pectoral roughly, massaging the soft yet firm skin, feeling the strength of his muscle when it suddenly contracted, the movement erratic underneath his fingers.  He gently tugged on the soft hairs of Eren’s happy trail and let his tongue leave a cool trail down to a firm and apparently sensitive nipple.  He licked the soft nub slowly while his fingertips played with the elastic waistband of Eren’s boxers.

He could feel the boy writhing impatiently underneath him, hear his hushed moans and hear his failed attempts to stifle his frustrated groans in agony beside him but he felt no remorse. 

Get some rest?  _You_ get some fucking rest!

He slipped his hand into the opening in front of Eren’s boxers and slowly wrapped his fingers around his firm hot length.  Feeling Eren’s member twitch in his hand, confirming that he was now completely hard gave him some satisfaction, which he realized was kind of mean, but…

“Levi,” Eren said breathlessly.  “If you’re just going to get me worked up… so- so you could leave me hanging… ah!... I just want you to know… that’s not nice.”

Levi chuckled darkly, slowly letting go of Eren’s dick, letting his fingers linger just a little longer than was necessary, feeling them become tacky with his lover’s pre-cum.

“I’m not nice Eren,” he said.  “You already knew that.”

“F-fuck!” Eren gasped out sounding injured.

Levi got off the chair and stood glaring at Eren who was contorted a little weirdly on the chair, bracing himself for… for what, he wasn’t sure?  His eyes were screwed shut, probably not wanting to witness Levi leaving the office and undoubtedly even slamming the door behind him.

After a moment, when he didn’t hear any movement, he slowly opened his eyes and looked up questioningly at Levi.

“Not done yet,” is all Levi said before he kneeled down between Eren’s legs and pulled his boxers down to his ankles, releasing his member from its confines.  

Eren watched him silently, clearly unsure as to what he should do or how he should act in this particular situation.  Gazing up at him seemingly disinterested, Levi first pushed Eren’s thighs apart, making more room for him to work in.  He settled himself between the boy’s legs and once again slowly wrapped his fingers around Eren’s cock.  He pumped it a couple of times as though to assure himself it was still hard and then slowly licked a sloppy wet stripe from the base all the way to the tip. 

Eren gasped in surprise and reflexively reached out to touch Levi’s face, the shorter male immediately slapped his hand away.

“S-sorry!” Eren yelped.  He wrapped his arms around the armrests of the chairs to show he would try and control himself better.

Levi shot him a hostile look before deciding he would let this slide.  He pumped Eren slowly, opening his mouth wide, making a big show of it so Eren could clearly see and went to work slowly and carefully licking his lover’s balls.  He let his teeth graze one carefully before going to work on the other.  Eren was having a hard time gasping and moaning, struggling to keep his hands to himself.  Once he was satisfied that they’d gotten enough attention, he turned and rubbed his chin against the inside of the boy’s thigh, letting his stubble map a prickly trail, making the boy keen in surprise.  He gently bit the soft flesh of his thigh several times, enjoying the soft gasps that escaped from the demon before slowly licking the red irritated skin he was leaving behind as though to cool it off.  He turned and did the same thing to the other thigh until he was back facing Eren’s now shiny pre-cum coated dick.

“F-fuck!  Levi…” Eren wailed, but couldn’t make any other coherent noises.  “Ahh!!!” 

Levi carefully let his thumb rub along the slit before giving it a soft kiss.  He then planted soft kisses down his length and back up again, letting his mouth linger on the sensitive nerve just below the head, nipping it gently.  Once he was at the top again he slowly dipped his tongue into the small slit, teasing the boy mercilessly hearing him moan wantonly before he finally complied and took the head carefully into his mouth, swirling his tongue around before taking as much of him in his mouth as he could.  His hand had at no moment stopped its slow methodical pumping, and now he sped up, trying to match the rhythm to that of his mouth.  Eren arched his back and bucked his hips repeatedly, pumping himself roughly into Levi’s willing mouth.  Levi lifted Eren’s leg onto his shoulder, squeezing his thigh aggressively, leaving deep scratch marks he knew would heal quickly anyway.      

“Levi!  Mmm…” whatever else Eren meant to say suddenly became incoherent, but Levi didn’t have to guess with the way his hips had begun to jerk erratically.

Before Eren’s cock could twitch and release its milky contents, Levi released him, letting his mouth glide off with a loud pop.  He wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of swallowing today.

Whether or not it was on purpose, Levi would never really be sure.  Eren trapped Levi between his legs and came not only all over his own stomach but all over Levi’s chest as well.

Levi froze in shock, not believing what was happening. 

“You look so beautiful,” Eren slurred, still panting heavily.  “All covered in my hot cum.”

Levi huffed angrily before turning to leave.  Not even two steps later and Eren suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way, looking like he was about to lose his patience.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked a little gruffly.

“To clean up,” Levi glared up at him defiantly.

He wasn’t sure if he imagined Eren’s eyes flash red before he found himself knocked to the ground and trapped underneath the demon’s considerable weight, his hands pinned above his head.

“I’m not done with you,” Eren growled.  He was still breathing heavily and his eyes were clouded over with lust.

“I thought I told you not to touch me,” Levi reminded him, but he couldn’t even say it convincingly, not with Eren shifting right before his eyes.

His hair grew long and turned dark, his fangs had elongated coming into view when he spoke. 

“Levi,” his voice sounded strained.  “I want you so bad… but I don’t want to hurt you. I would never forgive myself-”

“I want to feel you inside me Eren!” Levi cut him off.  He wrapped his legs tightly around the demon’s waist.  Eren’s eyes screwed shut and his breathing faltered when he felt the evidence of Levi’s want.  “I can’t think of anything else right now.  All I want is to make myself hoarse screaming your name over and over again.  I want you.”

When Eren gazed down upon the shorter man again his eyes were large and amber.  He released Levi’s hands and lowered himself onto an elbow, kissing his boyfriend gently.  Levi wove his fingers into Eren’s hair and returned his kiss fervently.  His hand snaked around the demon’s neck, his fingers digging into his back, his nails leaving red tracks where they carved mercilessly into his skin.  He wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when he suddenly felt soft feathers instead of skin back there.

Sadly, his sticky chest reminded him he couldn’t concentrate on the matter at hand as much as he would like to right now.

“Eren,” he released the boy’s mouth long enough to say.

“Hmm?”

“I still want to get cleaned up first,” he demanded haughtily.

Eren burst out into a short fit of laughter before lifting his small boyfriend and carrying him over to the bathroom.

 

\---

 

“Just one minute! I’m coming!  Dammit… hold your horses already…”

Petra’s expression shifted from general annoyance- to slightly startled- to a controlled coolness quicker than Levi had ever seen.  She ran a nervous hand through her slightly disheveled hair in a hurried effort to smooth it down.

“I see you’re wearing your given up on life pants,” Levi quipped after glancing at her attire which consisted of sweatpants and a t-shirt.  Not that he cared; she was at home and had every right to dress as comfortably as she wanted.  He just wanted to keep the conversation light, didn’t want to start in on her right away because he knew she’d just shut him out.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting visitors,” she laughed nervously.

“Well, maybe if you had answered your phone or checked your texts lately you would know I’ve been worried about you and trying to get a hold of you.  You know I don’t like showing up uninvited, but this is kind of a desperate last resort,” he explained.  “So… can I come in?”

“No,” she said after nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“No?” he echoed genuinely surprised.  He’d never been denied access to her place before; usually he just walked right in without having to ask.

She may have rolled her eyes at him, but the action was so quick he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it.

“Levi, I know you,” she began with a small smile.  “If my appearance right now offends you, then you do _not_ want to see the state of my apartment.”

“How bad,” his nose scrunched up involuntarily.

“It will give you nightmares,” she proclaimed with a weary sigh. 

“Gross,” now he wasn’t sure if he was imagining the foul odor emanating from within her apartment or if his mind was playing tricks on him.  “I can help you clean-”

“No!” she blurted out, cutting him off.  “I mean… come on Levi.  I already feel awkward enough as it is with you being here and seeing me this way.  I must look really pathetic, right?”

She did.  But everyone did at some point. Hadn’t he been the same way not too long ago?  With his questionable health leaving him feeling weak and vulnerable he’d felt exactly like that.  Pathetic.

“Everyone has their weak moments, Petra.  It will get done much faster between the two of us.  You’ll feel better when it’s cleaned up.”

She took a deep breath.

“I know you want to help me, Levi.  I really appreciate it.  I do.  But I’m not ready,” she said quietly while fiddling with the sleeve of her t-shirt.  “We could clean up, yes.  My place will be all nice again, we can pretend that will fix things.  Then you will go home and probably feel better about yourself.”

“Me?” he felt a little insulted.  “Who the fuck cares about me?  I just want to help you.”

“I know you do…”

“But?”

“But, I know it’s a lie.  It’s not gonna happen,” she looked at him apologetically.  “It will be clean for a day- maybe a couple of days if I put in some effort.  But… I won’t.  I’m not done with my little pity party, and I don’t know when I will be.  It’ll just go back to being a dump again, then… then I will feel like I let _you_ down on top of everything else.”

“So… I would just be making things worse,” he concluded bitterly.

She gave a slow nod, “yeah… kinda.  Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said.  “We can take a walk and talk on the way to get some coffee instead,” he offered.  “You know you can’t say no to coffee.  And then there’s fresh air too, I guess.  Those are good things, right?”

“Yeah,” she gave a little laugh.  “I guess it would do me some good to get out for a bit.  Face the world… I guess.”

“Yeah,” he said awkwardly.  “It would.”

“All right, just give me a minute to clean up and I’ll be right out.”

Levi lightly banged his head against the frame of her door after it had closed and he heard her walk away.  What the fuck was he doing?  He wasn’t really here to give her moral support, or to help her get over her apparent depression.  He was here to confront her, to find out what her role was in everything and what her intentions were.  All the determination, all the anger, all the outrage he’d felt on his way over had flown out the window after seeing her all broken.  She seemed so small and fragile, quite frankly he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stick to his guns.

She must have taken a quick shower because when she came back out her short hair was still a little damp.  Good thing the weather was warmer now, otherwise he would not feel comfortable letting her go outside like that.  She would surely catch a cold…

He mentally slapped himself for even thinking that. 

_Stop it!  She doesn’t give a fuck about you, and she’s been lying to your face.  Let the bitch catch fucking pneumonia.  Shit!_

Fuck it.  She was wearing khakis and a sweater.  That should be enough to keep her ass warm.

They picked up some coffee at a small shop and sat outside watching people walk by.  Most of them were walking their dogs, jogging or on their way somewhere.  Everyone was always in a hurry, so nobody would take an interest or even notice what they were talking about.

They had what Levi would consider polite conversation on their way to the coffee shop.  He wasn’t about to bring up anything that would put her on edge or scare her away altogether.  The topic of Auruo was definitely off-limits, so he didn’t mention him at all, though he was dying to ask her about him.  He wondered if she knew he was missing.  But of course he couldn’t say anything.  She was already upset as it was.  If she didn’t know, this would be like rubbing salt in her wounds. 

She kept shooting him nervous glances every now and again.  She wasn’t stupid, she knew he’d come over with a purpose and they were both just dancing around the issue, delaying the inevitable, filling the tension between them with idle chatter until it was finally time for the moment of truth.

“So,” she prompted, both hands wrapped around her latte for warmth.  The afternoon itself wasn’t particularly cold, but there was a slight breeze that was giving her chills.

“What?” he asked when she didn’t elaborate.

“I know you’re not here for my health, Levi,” again she laughed nervously.  “What’s this all about?”

Levi took a moment to gather his thoughts.  This wasn’t going to be easy.  It was never easy.  Might as well get to the point.

“I _know_ ,” he started slowly, strong emphasis on the ‘know’ hoping she would catch on without his having to continue.

Fuck, this was hard.  They’d been friends practically their whole life.  Why did this have to happen?

“ _What_ do you know?” she asked a little sarcastically.  “Exactly.”

“I know… about you… and Erwin,” he said calmly, keeping his gaze locked on her the whole time, waiting to see her reaction. 

Her eyes shot up the widest he’d ever seen them since he’d known her.  He had clearly caught her by surprise, he’d never seen her so stunned.

“It wasn’t really that hard to guess,” he added.  “What you two have been doing.  It was pretty obvious really.  I suppose I just didn’t want to say anything about it before because- well because this is really fucking awkward.”

“H-how do you know?” she stuttered nervously.  “Did he- did he tell you himself?”  She sounded breathless.

Levi shrugged.  If she wanted to think that, it was fine by him.  He wasn’t about to say that his suspicions were confirmed by a cat. 

“Oh god!”

Her face suddenly contorted in anger, her skin flushed and hands shaking.

“THAT FUCKING BASTARD!” she screeched.

Levi raised an eyebrow at her.  It seemed to him she was being a little overdramatic. 

He’d already suspected she was reporting his activities to Erwin.  When Erwin had shown up at his front door even though he’d never told him where he lived, he had openly told her he knew she was the one who had given him the information.  And she hadn’t denied it.  So why was she over-reacting now?

“And I suppose he told you _I_ was the one who pursued _him_ , didn’t he?!” she spat out.

What?  Levi sucked in a sharp breath.  His stomach suddenly felt like it was full of lead.

“Oh come on, Levi!  It’s probably the same bullshit he fed you about Mike.  How Mike allegedly seduced him, how he just had a moment of weakness.  Fuck!  I can’t believe the shit that comes out of that man’s mouth sometimes!” she was beginning to sound a little hysterical.  Levi’s ability to speak seemed to be lost at that moment, all he could do was gape at the person he’d believed to be his friend while she continued to rant.  “So much for keeping secrets.  Fucking Erwin!  It’s all fine and dandy until you need someone to throw under the fucking bus!  Well, fuck that.  Fuck _that!_   If he doesn’t have to keep his stupid mouth shut, why should I?  Do you really want to know why I’ve been so upset Levi, do you?”

He didn’t say anything.  It was obviously a rhetorical question.

“It’s not over _fucking_ Auruo, that’s for sure.  That guy was just a cover.  A cover and a joke!  He was someone who was convenient at the moment until he decided he was done with our bullshit, that’s all.  I was never even the slightest bit attracted to him, but he was necessary for our plan so I had to put up with him.  Erwin’s the one who set me up with him because he was so dense and easy to manipulate.  I’m actually kind of surprised he was able to figure it out, but that is neither here nor there.”

“A cover for what?” he was surprised he even found the voice to ask.

She burst out laughing.  “A cover for our kids obviously!  Oh, didn’t you know Levi?  Erwin wanted children.  But oops there was the problem of you being a man, so that wasn’t going to happen.  Then he had this brilliant idea.  I would have his kids and you would never have to find out because you would think they were Auruo’s.  Perfect right?”

He felt like he was going to lose his lunch right there, on the wire mesh table, in the middle of the sidewalk while passersby openly gawked at him.

“Of course all that went to shit when that stupid, _stupid_ test came back!  Auruo never even knew about the test.  It was him, it was stupid fucking Erwin who saw it.  And then- then he said he was done with me because what was the fucking point anymore!  I was just a means to an end, and without being able to carry his children I was fucking useless!”

She was bawling at this point and he didn’t know what to do. 

“I know you’ve moved on and you’re with Eren now.  I know you love him because I can see it.  I can see the effect he has on you and that’s great, but you have to be careful Levi.  You have to realize, Erwin will never let you go and believe me when I tell you that you have no idea what he is capable of.  I wasn’t good enough.  Mike wasn’t good enough.  No one will ever be good enough, because he’s only obsessed with _you_.  You have to be careful around that man…”

He kind of felt bad for her… he kind of wanted to strangle the life out of her more… she had betrayed him, even worse than he had ever imagined she could.  In the end, that was something he couldn’t excuse, couldn’t overlook.  He could almost pinpoint the exact moment his heart grew cold.

“Honestly… I don’t even know how you can stand to be around me.  Why are you even here, Levi?” she asked suddenly between sniffles.  “Why did you really come over?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.  “I guess I just wanted to hear your side.  Some small part of me was really hoping this was all a big misunderstanding.  But I guess not...”

She nodded in understanding before turning her gaze to the sun setting in the distance.

“I love him Levi,” she said softly. 

“I imagine you do,” was all he could reply.

“I loved him even back then.  I met him first you know.  And he knew how I felt, but it didn’t matter.  It didn’t matter because he only ever had eyes for you.  For him there was only ever you.  I thought… I hoped I could eventually let it go- let _him_ go.  But… I can’t…”

With that she slowly stood up, picked her purse off the back of the chair, cradled her cup to her chest and without another word walked away.

Levi couldn’t even bring himself to watch her leave.  He just sat there gazing up at the darkening sky in the horizon, listening to her retreating steps become softer and softer until they became indiscernible, blending in with the background noise of the busy street.

\--- 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will not be pretty.  
> You've been warned.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	27. Dark Selfishness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets a surprise phone call and Hanji finally has his test results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To quote Ymir, "I'm sorry."

* * *

 

 

That evening he’d had thoughts of heading into Garrison’s Pub and drinking until he couldn’t remember anything, until he didn’t care anymore.  It’s what he would have done in the past and it was what he was used to.  He wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten there.  His feet must have just taken him there of their own accord.  Mechanical, as Eren would say.  He chuckled at the memory of the demon’s little lecture about driving. 

Somehow though, he couldn’t bring himself to go inside this time. 

Levi was standing outside the pub doors, making sure to stay clear of the door so he wouldn’t be in the way.  The last of the sun’s rays were reflecting off the glass washing everything in a tinge of orange.  It was a little cold outside, but not cold enough to where he could see his breath when he exhaled.  It looked warm and inviting inside the pub.  It was decorated in dark woods and beautiful Tiffany lamps that reflected soothing colors in the large mirrors hanging behind the bar.  If one was drunk enough, it could almost feel like you were in a warm cabin in the woods sitting next to a crackling fireplace.  And Levi was usually more than drunk enough when he visited this place.  

That’s why he had liked coming here all the time.  It was nice and relaxing after a hectic day of work.  This wasn’t the kind of bar people visited to hook up; there was no pressure, no aura of desperation in the air, no half-drunk clingy singles trying to catch his attention.  He silently observed the people inside- drinking, winding down after a long day at the office, talking about nonsense most likely and then drinking some more to gather enough courage to go home and face whatever awaited them there.

He worried his bottom lip absentmindedly, lost in thought for a while remembering how he used to come in here often- sometimes several times a week- just looking for an escape.  A moment to himself when he didn’t have to worry about stepping on someone else’s toes, didn’t have to feel like he was the cause of someone’s irritation, like he was letting them down yet again and wonder for the umpteenth time why they were together in the first place.        

Escape.  He’d needed an escape before and this had been it.  Those same people who had driven him to this place before were the cause for him standing here now.  But…

That isn’t what awaited him at home now.  Those douches were a part of his past now and they didn’t have to be a part of his future, not if he didn’t choose to have them in it.  If he went home right now, there wasn’t anything he dreaded waiting for him.  Eren was waiting for him.  Eren would hold him in his arms, murmur softly into his ear and smother him with kisses if he let him.  Just being with the man he loved would make all his problems dissolve.  So what was he doing here then?  Being ridiculous, that’s what.

He refocused his eyes and instead of looking at the people inside he took in his own reflection.  Was that a stupid lop-sided smile he saw there on the man staring back at him?  Yes, yes it was. 

With that he knew exactly where he needed to be, and it wasn’t at this pub.  Besides, he never used to drive here before, that was another problem.  Before he’d always taken a taxi home or someone else would be the designated driver.    

He pulled his phone out and pressed his number one on speed dial.

“Hey!” his lover’s cheerful voice chimed on the other end of the line.  “You almost home?”

“On my way,” he smiled into the device.  “Did you already make dinner?”

“N-not really,” the boy sounded nervous now.  “I wasn’t sure what time you’d be home, so-”

“Good,” Levi cut him off.  “Why don’t you put on something nice?  I want to take you out.”

“What?  Nah, you don’t have to!” he could hear the smile in Eren’s tone.  Of course he wanted to go out.  “I could whip up something real quick.  We could have pasta or some sandwiches and watch Netflix.  The next season of Portlandia is up now…”

“Ooh tempting,” he said playfully.  He could hear Eren giggle.  “But we could do that tomorrow.  I’ll be there soon, don’t keep me waiting shitty brat.”

“Yessir!”

They said their ‘I love you’s’ before hanging up.  Levi smiled widely.  He felt warm and fuzzy all over and he knew it was sappy to think it, but he knew exactly why.  He was in love and he was loved in return.  This was what he needed and this was _all_ he needed. 

Whatever happened, he could get through it. 

 

\---

 

The following day Levi received a phone call he was never in a million years expecting.

“Levi?”

He’d answered it right away without checking who it was.  He’d thought it was Eren calling to see how his business lunch had gone.  The caller ID said Unknown Number.

“Who is this?” he asked trying to sound nonchalant.

“Well… I guess I knew you’d still be mad,” the man on the other line sounded surprisingly calm.  “Not that I blame you- not at all.  But I was hoping you’d be a little calmer now.  At least calm enough to actually be willing to hear me out.”

Levi sucked in a sharp surprised breath. 

_Holy shit!_

“Mike?”

The taller man seemed surprised to hear actual joy in Levi’s voice. 

“Yeah…” his voice was full of uncertainty.

“Oh my fucking god!  You dirty bastard!  Do you know how fucking scared I was?  I’ve been worried sick about you!”

There was a moment of silence.  Levi assumed Mike was a little confused. 

“W-wait- what?”

“You disappeared off the face of the earth you asshole!  Left your phone, all your crap at your friends’ house… goddammit Mike, I have ulcers now thanks to you!”

“Oh… well shit man.  I’m sorry!  I just couldn’t deal with anything.  I had to take off- I just needed time to think, room to breathe, you know?  I didn’t even think-” Levi could hear him take a deep breath on the other line.  “Levi?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you being so… _nice_ to me?  I mean, under the circumstances-”

“I’m the same asshole I’ve always been Mike, don’t worry about that.  I was mad at you at first.  Pissed off as hell, actually.  But things change and… let’s just say I found out some things and I think we really need to talk.”

“Oh, ok.  Well that’s why I was calling in the first place, so…”

Levi could picture him shrugging in that unassuming way he always did.

“Mike.”

“Yeah?”

“You really did scare the shit out me asshole.  Don’t fucking ever do that again.”

He heard the other man full on laugh.

“Yes, mom.”

“Damn straight.” 

 

\---

 

**Hanji:**   Levi… we need to talk.  Please come over as soon as you can.

**Hanji:**   Come alone.

 

\---

 

A couple of days later, Levi found himself at Hanji’s house again.  He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it sure wasn’t this.  Levi walked into Hanji’s living room and found Ymir and Bertholdt already seated, waiting for him.  Moblit was also there, looking nervous as ever, offering everyone drinks. 

Not that he’d expected for everyone to get up and do the fucking wave or fist-bump him the moment he walked in, but this was really damn awkward.  They greeted him with such grave expressions he almost turned to leave again.  They couldn’t even meet his gaze for more than moment.  He wasn’t sure he was up for more drama, which was most likely what was going to happen here. 

“Levi,” Hanji started after she cleared her voice to get everyone’s attention.  He sat down on the armchair since it was the only place left.  “This is about your test results.”

“And it’s necessary for everyone to be here for this?” he asked uncertainly.  If they were there, why had she asked him to come alone?

“Well…” Hanji took in a deep nervous breath.  “They’re here because they helped me in gathering information, so they already know what’s going on.”  She started pacing.  Levi shifted nervously in his seat- she only did that when something was bothering her.  He finally noticed her eyes were red and puffy as though she’d been crying.  He supposed this was going to be bad news after all.  She stopped in front of him, but couldn’t stand still.  “If you would prefer to hear this in private, we could go into the kitchen?”

He shook his head.  What was the point?

“If they already know, then it doesn’t matter.  Just say what you have to say, four-eyes.”

“Ok,” she said quietly then went to pull up a chair so she could sit in front of him.  “Levi, I was ready to let you know that I was giving up on finding anything.  I mean,” she sighed deeply, trying to figure out how she was going to phrase things.  “Nothing I found made sense, it was all gibberish.  Random numbers, random values for random shit that I wasn’t even sure meant anything!  I knew I was going into it blind, and it would most likely be a wild goose chase, but we had to try, right?”

He nodded firmly.  Of course they had to try.  He hated not knowing what was wrong with him.  At least if he knew then he would know how to react.  Once it had a name he could prepare accordingly.  Prepare to fight, or prepare to give up.  But at least he’d know.

“Just randomly, I mean really _really_ randomly, I figured we’d try testing for levels of toxicity from the flu shots you are always getting.  I mean, that’s a thing, right?  What with all the anti-vaccination shit that’s going on, I figured we could check that too- just to see.  Well, imagine my surprise when I asked Dr. Jinn if I could have access to the information on the shots he was giving you…”

She paused there, her elbows resting on her knees, nervously cracking her fingers.

“Before this last time I wasn’t normally getting my shots with him,” he said.  He couldn’t even remember the name of the technician who normally administered them.  He supposed he could find out from Erwin- _if_ she really needed him to.  He hoped she didn’t.

She pressed her lips into a firm line.

“Yeah… he said you were getting them at your husband’s office before,” she now rubbed her temple as if she was getting a headache.  He glanced at the others, but they were carefully keeping their eyes averted, looking as uncomfortable as people possibly could.

“If you need me to locate the technician who admin-”

“That’s not necessary,” she cut him off.  “Levi… Erwin’s office doesn’t offer flu shots.  Or any other kind of shots or any other kind of in-office health service.  They never have.”

He gaped at her.  Was he hearing this correctly?

“What?  Then who the fuck was administering my shots?” his mind was reeling. 

He vaguely recalled Erwin talking him into getting his flu shots at work because they’d be free and he would get some kind of discount off of his insurance premiums if they got their shots and physicals through the corporation.  He hadn’t cared one way or the other, so he’d gone along with it just to shut him up.  But if that was all lies, then what had it all been for?

“We’re not sure,” her voice cracked and she sniffed loudly before continuing.  “Levi, this is all my fault!”

She lowered her head and started weeping, her shoulders shaking violently.   Moblit jumped out of his seat bringing over a box of tissues.  He quietly asked Hanji to let Ymir take over because she was clearly not going to be able to go through with it.  She nodded and let him lead her to the sofa.

Levi glared at them all.  He was going into full on anxiety mode, his breathing becoming more difficult.  He needed to know what was going on and fast!

“Did you know Hanji was conducting experiments on Eren, Levi?” Ymir was now sitting in front of him.

“Yeah,” he croaked out nervously.  His throat was really dry.  “Eren told me he allowed it because she was so nice to him.”

“Yeah well,” her face screwed in disgust.  “Those were conducted at Erwin’s request.  He’s the one who originally came upon the demonology books.  Paid a crap ton for them too from what I hear,” she scoffed.  “Anyway, he brought them to Hanji and as a favor to him he asked if she could figure them out.  Which she did, obviously.  I mean, come on, he knew she would be all over something like that. 

She managed to summon Eren and find out a lot of information regarding demons from him directly.  Faster healing, super-strength, magic powers and not to mention a much longer lifespan- of course he wanted all of that, who wouldn’t?  He asked her to bio-engineer a way to transfer these qualities to a human.”

“He said it would be used to help those with terminal illnesses,” Hanji cut in, though she was now a sobbing mess.  “He said it would be tested extensively first!”

“Obviously, that didn’t happen,” Ymir continued.  “He kept the results to himself, hired a bunch of _goons_ from what we can tell- and conducted his own testing.  On you.”

It felt like he’d had a cooler of cold water dumped on him.  Was he hearing this correctly?  Erwin had used him as a guinea pig for very questionable testing?  Without his consent and without his knowledge?!  Of course, he’d never give his consent for something that ludicrous.  Goddamn bastard!

He bolted out of his seat only to be pushed back down again by Bertholdt.

“Whatever you think you’re going to do to him right now, don’t,” he said calmly.  “You’ll only get in trouble with the law and then things will only get worse for you.  Much worse.”

Levi’s brain gears went into over-drive.  Bertholdt was right, as much as he wanted to rip that smug grin off the blonde behemoth’s face right now, it would only make matters worse.  If he attacked Erwin he’d only get thrown in jail.  Who knew what kind of influence the prick had in there.  He’d probably be allowed to continue with his fucked up experiments.

“Knowing this, where do I stand with you guys now?” he asked Bertholdt through clenched teeth.  “Is your leader still going to be after my ass?”

The tall demon sat on the coffee table so he could speak to Levi eye to eye. 

“Well, now that we know why you are the way you are there should be no need for us to bring you in,” he said calmly.  “Hanji has stated she is willing to report to us regularly and be under constant monitoring to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.  That should be fine with our leader- more than fine actually.  With Hanji’s knowledge, she might actually want her to collaborate on future work.”

Levi digested this information as best as he could under the circumstances.  At least he didn’t have to worry about getting snatched.

“What about Eren?”

“Eren’s free to do as he pleases,” Bertholdt frowned.  “He was never under any scrutiny.  And as long as he remains neutral in our realm’s politics, then he should be fine.”

“Ok, well that’s good at least,” he relaxed a little into the chair.  He noticed no one else in the room relaxed at all.  “But that’s not all, is it?  There’s more right?  Otherwise Poindexter over there wouldn’t be snotting up a storm.  What aren’t you telling me?”

Ymir and Bertholdt gave each other apprehensive looks before turning back to Levi.

“Our leader is not going to overlook what Erwin has attempted here,” Bertholdt said first.  “Nor is she going to allow him to just run around freely with the information he has.  His days in this realm are numbered.  You all need to stay away from him.  It’s for your own safety.”

“The reason Hanji is pretty much a mess right now is two-fold,” Ymir added.  “We realized Erwin always planned to test the stuff on you and he knew Hanji might give him away.  That’s why he had her put away.”   

“We don’t think it was his intention for her to be institutionalized though,” Moblit joined the conversation.  “He planted the Uranium in her house so she’d get locked up- as in maximum security locked up.  If she hadn’t brought up all the stuff about demons, and well, pretty much just been her regular Hanji self, that probably would have happened too.”

“I’ll kill that bastard!” Hanji screeched out all of a sudden.  Moblit quietly pleaded with her to calm down.  Surprisingly she seemed to listen to him.

“Levi,” Ymir continued slowly.  “They tried to make you into some kind of artificial half-demon.  But… it didn’t work.  This is why we didn’t want you to bring Eren with you.  We’re not sure how he will react to this knowledge, and it’s really your right to decide when you tell him or if you even want him to know.”  She looked him sternly in the eye before continuing.  “Levi, your body is rejecting it.  That’s why you’ve been feeling like shit.  And there’s no way to know when it will stop- _if_ it will stop- or how bad it will get.  At this rate your organs would shut down and… well I think you know what the worst case scenario would be.  I’m sorry.”

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *collapses*
> 
> this hurts to write  
> my poor babies!


	28. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi goes looking for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

* * *

 

He understood why he needed to stay away from Erwin, he really did.  Petra had warned him, Bertholdt had warned him and the others had agreed- do not go after Erwin, it was a bad idea.  He was beyond angry and no one in the history of _ever_ had more right to be outraged than Levi.  Bertholdt had assured him Erwin would be punished so it was completely unnecessary for him to get his hands dirty over this.  Erwin’s time in this plane of existence was numbered.  The thought of that should have given the raven haired man a sick sense of satisfaction, but he was really having a hard time enjoying it and he knew exactly why.

He wanted to do it himself. 

He wanted to punish his ex, wanted him to know exactly how much he hated him for what he’d done.  He wanted to beat him until he was reduced to a whimpering pile of a useless human being, covered in dark bruises- purple, black, blue, red welts weeping bloody tears- he wanted to hear him scream in pain, tears falling uncontrollably and his broken voice begging him to stop.  But Levi wouldn’t stop, no.  He wouldn’t show him any mercy, he would turn a blind eye- a deaf ear- whatever needed to be done to make him pay, but he would not stop- not until he finally wiped the smugness, the holier than thou attitude, the detachment from real life and most of all his unwillingness to take responsibility for his actions.  In short, he wanted for Erwin to be sorry and actually mean it for once in his selfish fucking life.  He might as well be asking for miracles because the man he knew would rather die than give up his pride.  And maybe- just maybe- Levi didn’t care if he had to push him that far.  What did he have left to lose after all?  As far as he was concerned the fucking prick deserved it.  He’d played with Levi’s health and taken his life without batting an eyelash therefore the short man felt he would be more than justified if he were to do the same.

An eye for an eye right?

He sat in his car trying to control his breathing and he was beginning to lose feeling in his fingertips due to the death grip he had on his steering wheel.  He was staring straight ahead into the concrete wall of the parking structure, but he was not really seeing anything. 

His mind strayed…

 

**Eren:**   Levi please, just please tell me where you are?  I’m worried sick!  I just want to know you’re ok.  Please answer me!

 

It was the last in a long series of messages he’d received from Eren last night.  He hadn’t bothered to check how many missed calls he’d had to go with the texts.  There was probably a fuck ton of those as well.  He’d silenced his phone after the first one.  He really could not deal with it.  He hadn’t received any new ones that morning, meaning Eren must be pissed as hell and was now giving him the silent treatment.  He knew in the back of his mind there would be hell to pay when he finally did go home, but he’d cross that bridge when he got there. 

He just couldn’t do it.  He wasn’t able to make his way home the previous evening after the news he’d gotten at Hanji’s house.  He could not see Eren and pretend that nothing was wrong.  He definitely wasn’t planning on telling Eren what had happened, he knew the demon would kill Erwin without a second thought.  Did he care about Erwin’s safety?  Hell no!  Again, he wanted the satisfaction of making Erwin pay himself.  Anything short of that would leave him feeling cheated and he’d had enough of that in his life. 

Plus how do you tell the one you love- the one who holds your whole world in his eyes that your time together is going to come to an end?  He’d always known Eren would outlive him, and he tried not to dwell on that.  He tried to keep those kinds of thoughts buried in the back of his mind.  But now it didn’t matter.  None of that mattered because compared to the possible thousands of years that Eren would live, his time with Levi would feel like less than a second in comparison.  He felt utterly insignificant, completely unimportant.  Would his lover even remember him?  Would he forget he’d even existed after a few decades?  After a few centuries?    It hurt to think about it.

He’d driven around aimlessly and even stopped to refill his gas tank at one point in a small nearby city he’d never even heard of.  He was still wearing the same clothes, he hadn’t bathed, he hadn’t brushed his teeth, he probably had horrible b.o. and he couldn’t even be bothered to care about it.  Yes, he was most definitely spiraling out of control, losing his mind.  He’d stopped for a soda at one point in the night, he couldn’t really pinpoint the exact time, and a coffee sometime soon after the sun rose that next morning.  Any thought of food was banished as soon as it came.  There would be no eating until he’d taken some sort of action.  He had to do _something_ , but he couldn’t decide on exactly what.  Erwin was a dead man for all intents and purposes, so what could he possibly do?  Could he really beat the shit out of him knowing what his fate was going to be?

Absolutely. 

A sharp exhalation of breath, a sudden shake of his shoulders and he was finally able to relax, at least a small fraction.  He forced himself to let the steering wheel go, grimacing slightly in pain when his stiff arms started regaining feeling.  At least he’d already put on his black leather gloves.  That would probably be an impossible feat right now with his numb fingers.

The parking lot was full, it was a normal workday, it was well after lunchtime and it was late enough to where that douchebag would be done with any meetings he may have had planned for the day.  Erwin normally liked to have all his meetings in the morning, that way they wouldn’t cut into his lunchtime if they ran late.    

He wasn’t sure what would happen or what would be awaiting him when he stepped in to the office.  Erwin was always a step ahead of everyone, always ready for any possible scenario, any possible outcome.  Would today be any different?

_Erwin, were you planning for this day to happen when you decided to play with my life?_

_I bet you weren’t._

\---

 

“Levi?!”

Erwin sounded shocked to see him.  But not in a bad way, it was more like he was pleasantly surprised.  He didn’t miss the sudden warmth in those big baby blues when they landed on him or the smile that played at his lips.  You had to know the man to notice those kinds of things, it wasn’t something that was immediately obvious.  Erwin worked hard to keep up a professional front and most people would miss it entirely, but Levi noticed.  He wondered how long that happiness would last once they got down to talking.  He wondered for the millionth time since making his way up there if he’d be able to keep himself under control. 

He stepped to the side just in time as Erwin’s pushy administrative assistant came barreling through. 

“I’m sorry, sir!” she cried out breathlessly.  “He managed to shove me into the elevator as it was closing when I tried to escort him out!  I got off on the next floor and ran back as soon as I could…”

Levi glared at her and she glared back.  It was no secret he didn’t get along with Erwin’s assistant.  She was rude, she definitely had a stick up her ass, she had the personality of toast and she had the sense of humor of mold.  She was also a perfectionist and a real stickler for following rules.  In other words, she was perfect.  If Levi ever needed an assistant, she would be his first choice.

“Calm down, Rico,” Erwin said with a hint of amusement. 

“B-but sir!  You said you were swamped with work and didn’t want to see anyone-”

Erwin held up a hand, effectively cutting her off.

“It’s fine.  I’m sure Levi wouldn’t come barging in without good reason.  Right Levi?”

“Of course,” Levi replied with a smirk.

She stood there looking nervous for a moment before addressing Erwin again.

“Should I re-schedule your four o’clock then… sir?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll understand,” he said dismissively, turning to tap away at his computer for a bit.

Rico didn’t seem quite as convinced as he was about them understanding. 

“Well, ok then,” she said through gritted teeth and then stomped back out closing the double doors with a little more force than necessary.

“Charming,” Levi commented drily as he took a seat in front of Erwin’s huge black desk.

“You can’t fool me,” Erwin laughed.  “I know you have a soft spot for her.”

Levi shifted in his seat fidgeting with the fabric of his shirt sleeves.  He was having a hard time deciding on his approach.  There were so many things he needed to say and he didn’t really know where to start.

“Am I really that easy to read?” he finally asked.

Erwin turned to him and studied his face for a bit.  Something he saw there must not have agreed with him.  He sighed heavily, got up and walked over to his mini bar. 

“I take it this is not exactly a social call then?”

If he’d been trying to hide the disappointment in his voice, then he’d failed.

He came back with two glasses of scotch.

“You seem like you need one,” he commented placing one in front of Levi.  He set his computer on sleep mode and stacked his files neatly out of the way before giving Levi his undivided attention.  “So,” he started before taking a long swig of his drink.  “What’s going on?”

Levi huffed and decided there was no point in beating around the bush.  Wasn’t he the kind of person who was used to being blunt?  Why should this be any different?

“Honestly?  I came here to kick your ass,” he muttered slowly.  “And not just metaphorically this time.  No.  This time… I mean r _eally_ fucking kick your ass.”

Erwin’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.  He was suddenly looking at Levi as though he were a total stranger.

“Oh?  And just why would you want to do that?” he asked calmly, his unblinking gaze challenging the shorter man, daring him to continue.

Levi laughed darkly.

“Oh, for _so_ many things… there really is no keeping count anymore,” he sighed heavily.  “What am I to you Erwin?”

The big blonde stared at him with confusion.  He probably thought it was a rhetorical question. 

“When you look at me, what do you see?  Do you see a person?  Am I less than a person to you?”

Finally realizing this was going to be an argument, Erwin sat back and crossed his arms.  Levi could see he was going to be as stubborn as always.

“I’m not sure what you mean.  Of course you’re person Levi.  Why do you even have to ask?”

“Do I not belong to myself, Erwin?  Am I not allowed to have my own goals, my own opinions?  My own hopes and dreams?”

Erwin looked away, probably to hide the fact that Levi was now making him angry.

“If this is about Eren… I’m afraid I have to stand by what I told you.  You don’t know what someone like him is capable of.”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief.  He really couldn’t believe this man in front of him could be such a hypocrite!

“I’m worried about you Levi.  And if that makes me a bad person in your eyes, well… then I guess there’s nothing I can do about that.  I’m sorry.”

Levi gave a small sardonic laugh which earned him an angry glare from his ex.

“Wow,” he shook his head.  “With friends like you who needs enemies, right Erwin?”

Erwin’s patience seemed to finally run out.  He shot up from his chair and leaned over his desk glaring down at Levi with impatience.

Levi did not even flinch.  He smiled up at him merely raising an eyebrow, highly amused by his sudden loss of composure.

“Are we going to keep playing guessing games all afternoon, or were you planning on telling me what the fuck is on your mind then?”

Levi raised his glass to his lips and slowly finished the last of his scotch. 

“I’m done now,” he declared slamming his now empty glass loudly onto the desk’s sleek surface. 

Erwin straightened himself back up and turned to walk over to his window.  He ran a nervous hand through his hair before turning back to face Levi.

“Well?” he asked impatiently.

“Erwin, I lied to you before,” Levi started.  “Eren is a demon.  You were right.”

This had Erwin rushing suddenly back.

“You know?  When did you find out?  Did he try to hurt you?!  Levi-”

“Save it,” Levi cut him off.  “I always knew.  I’m the one who summoned him.”

Was it possible for Erwin’s eyes to get any wider? 

“You!” he exclaimed.  “You did?  But- but how?!”

“I was drunk,” Levi shrugged.  “And Eren has never done anything to hurt me.”  He paused to let that sink in before adding.  “Which is sadly more than I can say for you.”

“I explained about Mike,” Erwin tried to defend himself.

“I don’t even care about that anymore,” Levi waved him off dismissively.  “That’s almost irrelevant really.  Even your little adventures with Petra are nothing compared to what you’ve done to me.  The more pressing issue- the whole reason I am here _Erwin_ … is to let you know that I found out about what you’ve done.  I pretty much just want to let you know that I know.  I want you to know that you are the worst person I have ever had the misfortune of knowing and that you did not get away with your little secrets.”

Erwin slumped back onto his chair.

“Levi, you’re not making any sense-”

“I want you to stay away from me, Erwin.  I wanted to tell you that in person- to your face, so you don’t go pretending you didn’t know.  There can be no friendship between us or whatever the fuck it was you claimed to want.  I can’t have you in my life.  I don’t want you around because I can’t trust you.  I _don’t_ trust you.  You are not my friend and quite frankly, I don’t think you even know what it means to _be_ a friend.”

“How can you say that?” he bit out angrily.  “Why can’t you understand that _everything_ I do is for you Levi?  Everything I have, everything I’ve worked for is for you!  You’re the only one I care about…”

Levi’s head started to throb.  He’d had enough of Erwin’s song and dance.  Maybe he actually believed the crap he was spewing out, who knew.  Regardless, it was not his problem and he was sick of listening to the man.  He shot up from his seat and slammed both fists on the desk.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Erwin stared at him as if he’d grown another head. 

_Fuck him!  Fuck him and his stupid face!_

Levi knocked his glass off the desk for good measure.  The sound of shattering glass echoed in the sudden silence of the office. 

“What kind of a person claims to care about someone,” he spat out.  “Sleeps with all his fucking friends like a lowly whore, has his best friend incarcerated and then manipulates the person they allegedly love into participating in dangerous experiments without their knowledge or their consent!  Care to explain that, _Erwin_?!” 

His ex visibly deflated before his eyes.  He scanned the room nervously as if he could find answers from within the confines of his office. 

“There was no danger,” he muttered quietly.  “I wanted to make you strong- invincible.  That way you could stay with me always.  I wanted it to be a surprise- a gift to you from me.”

A surprise?  A gift?  Wow, maybe he really was just clueless.

“Well Erwin… I guess the surprise is on you then,” he said bitterly as he walked away.  “My body is rejecting the changes.  Congratulations, I have no future.  You have effectively poisoned me.”

He heard a loud gasp and a faint ‘what?’ before he opened the doors and quickly walked out of Erwin’s office. 

 

\---

 

Levi stood by his car and dug his phone out of his pocket. 

He was glad it wasn’t quitting time for the employees yet, he didn’t want to get stuck trying to leave the structure at the same time as everyone else did.  He’d almost expected for Erwin to be right behind him spewing all kinds of apologies and excuses for what he’d done, but that didn’t happen.  Good.

He hoped the tall man would finally leave him alone and allow him to at least live his final days in quiet tranquility.  That’s all he wanted now- to spend the time he had left in peace with Eren- to fit as much happiness as he could into his final days.  He hoped Erwin would listen to him for once because if he had to face stupid eyebrows again, there would be no going back.  He would not let him off so easy next time. 

He was unlocking his phone checking to see if he’d had any other messages or if Eren was still mad at him.  Most likely he was.  He’d have to swing by and get him some flowers as an apology.  Although he did find it cute when Eren pouted, he knew this time it was more serious and he’d have to work harder to earn his forgiveness.  He had no idea what he would say about his absence.  He’d just have to hope he could think of something on the way home.

No new messages from Eren.  Oh well, it’s not like he wasn’t expecting that.  Seven missed calls and five messages from Hanji?  He wondered what that was about.

He heard someone moving within the cars and turned to see who it could possibly be.  He tensed up in case it was Erwin coming to stop him after all.  He was stubborn enough, so it was definitely a possibility.  He locked his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket then moved out closer to the back of his car where he could get a better view.  He was parked between an SUV and a truck so he couldn’t really see well.

He looked around but didn’t see anyone.  After a couple more minutes waiting to see if someone would pop up he decided to just go home.  It was probably only one of the employees leaving early for the day anyway.  He turned around and pulled out his keys to open his door when he heard steps again, but they sounded like they were right behind him.  He turned to face whoever it was with a scowl on his face ready to intimidate the fuck out of whoever dared to be bothering him. 

He did not expect to be staring up into familiar cat-like eyes.  His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest when he realized those normally golden cat eyes were glowing with red fury.

And they were glaring down at him with a blankness that held no hint of recognition.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say for myself. 
> 
> *i'm sorrrrrrryyyyyy......*


End file.
